


Of Dragons and Demons

by DragonsAndCryptids



Series: Faeries, Demons, and Dragons [4]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Gore, Canon Universe, Character Development, Dialogue Heavy, Dragons, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, No Smut, Other, Slow Burn, and what isn't is massive, like..... so much focus on dragons you don't even know, love me some fine ass character development y’all, more notes about the AU in the notes, tbh most of this is gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-10-14 08:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 174,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20597864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsAndCryptids/pseuds/DragonsAndCryptids
Summary: Fairy Tail has drawn in unusual members since its creation. Powerful mages that simply don't seem to fit in anywhere else, but this generation of Mavis's followers may be the strongest and strangest that Fiore has ever seen.Natsu, Gray, and Erza have been best friends for years. They love their guild, and each other, more than anything. But when Natsu's magic turns against him, and a dark power begins to stir inside Gray, Fairy Tail may not be enough to save them.Fairy Tail has always been an eventful place, but the members can sense something starting. Something they may have been designed for since the beginning.





	1. The Dragon of Fairy Tail

**Author's Note:**

> Okay gang, I binged Fairy Tail in like,,, two weeks and while I enjoyed it, my high fantasy writer brain was like, "I can make this cooler," so here's notes about this AU that you'll definitely want to know before reading. 
> 
> While this will mostly follow canon-verse plotlines, there will be some I'm cutting out, for various reasons. EDIT: plotlines included are Galuna Island/Deliora, Phantom Lord, the Tower of Heaven, the Battle of Fairy Tail, Edolas, and Tenrou Island/Grimiore Heart. 
> 
> I'm cutting down Lucy's significance, like, a lot, so if you're a big Lucy fan, sorry, I just don't like her very much and don't want to massively change her character to fit my tastes. She still has a decent role, but is with Cana and Loke, rather than Natsu, Gray, and Erza. 
> 
> Most of this is gen, and focused very heavily on friendships and familial relationships, but I've tagged all the relationships that have any focus, however, this fic is massive slowburn, and really the only shippy stuff is towards the end, and even then, it's minor (except for Mirajane and Erza, who are already together at the start of the fic). Also there will be no smut (in this work, or any other part of the series). 
> 
> I'm doing a lot of foreshadowing with Zeref and Natsu's relationship, also expanding on their past, and all Zeref did to bring Natsu back/what he did to change him into E.N.D. I just think it's very interesting, and wish it had been explored more in canon. 
> 
> Wendy was discovered with Natsu and brought to Fairy Tail at the same time, and they both remember Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue. I also plan to expand more on dragon slayer lore, and the effects of dragon slayer magic (like, that's a huuuge focus of this). 
> 
> Because I have no idea how to chill, this ended up much darker than canon. The fight scenes are much more violent and gory, and I kind of made every single Fairy Tail member down with murder, so there's that. Without going into spoiler territory, there's some fucked up stuff coming. And of course, because of that, most of the character's ended up a little darker, too (though I think I balanced it well, so they're not out of character). 
> 
> Finally, this is a series, if you hadn't realized already. I've come back and edited these notes, so as of now there's a prequel, and the second part posted as well, with more on the way. So hey, if you end up enjoying this, it should keep you busy for a hot minute. 
> 
> Anyways, I'll let you actually read it now. I hope you enjoy the fic!

Even though Erza had told him not to get his hopes up, Natsu couldn’t help it. He’d just been searching for so long, for any type of lead, and this was the first that he’d found in _years. _

He couldn’t help but hope.

Maybe Igneel wasn’t as gone as everyone kept trying to convince him.

Happy bumped his head against Natsu’s hand, purring. “Do you really think we’ll find him?”

Natsu shrugged, still trying to cling to Erza’s advice, knowing thinking otherwise would only end up with him upset. “Probably not, but maybe we’ll at least find a clue as to where he is.”

* * *

Lucy really shouldn’t have spent all that money on that key, and she really shouldn’t have invited the strange pink haired man and his cat to dinner. She was going to go broke if she kept up these reckless spending habits.

She’d just felt grateful, was all. He had snapped her out of that sleazy wizard’s charm spell. Even if it had been an accident. And she really hadn’t expected him to practically order the whole menu. Or for his cat to eat this much either, even if it did have wings, and _talked_. That had been a shock. “Thanks for getting me out of that wizard’s thrall again,” Lucy said, desperately trying to distract him from the food.

“Hm?” He glanced up, mouth full. “Oh yeah, no problem.”

“I should have noticed,” she continued, frowning. “I’m a wizard, too, after all. I should have at least sensed there was magic around.”

“You’re a wizard?” the cat asked.

She nodded, grinning. “Yeah! A celestial spirit wizard! And I’m pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.” Then she frowned again. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your names.”

“I’m Happy!” the cat replied, tail swishing. “And this is Natsu.”

Natsu waved.

“Ah, I think I already told you, but I’m Lucy Heartfilia.” She nudged her own empty plate off to the side. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you in town? You don’t seem like you’re from around here.”

Natsu and Happy glanced at each other. “We were hoping to meet up with a family member,” Natsu finally said. His gaze fell. “But it’s not looking like he’s around. Think we might be in the wrong place.”

Happy’s ears drooped and he licked at Natsu’s hand.

Lucy decided not to press, and had a feeling there was a lot more to what Natsu said than he was implying. “Oh, well, I hope you find him.” She got up from the table. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime, Natsu.” She waved, and left the restaurant.

“Thanks for the meal!” she heard him shout.

She chuckled. Natsu and his cat were a little odd, but seemed like nice individuals. She hoped they found whoever they were looking for.

She made it a little ways, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, coming face to face from the wizard from earlier. “You’re quite the beautiful girl,” he said. “And you’re a wizard, too. Unless I’m imagining the magic power coming from you.”

She squirmed out of his grasp. “Salamander,” she hissed. “Your little charm spell won’t work on me now that I know about it.”

He smirked. “Oh, I didn’t think such cheap tricks would work on you for long.”

She scoffed. Did he think _any_ of his tricks would work on her? She obviously wasn’t interested, couldn’t he see that?

“Come on now,” he said, leaning in far too close for comfort and grabbing her wrist. “You aren’t even a little interested?”

“No. Let me go!” She tried to jerk her wrist away, but his grip tightened.

“Come on, man,” a familiar voice said behind her. “Leave her alone. She said she’s not interested.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You again.”

Natsu waltzed up behind Lucy, hands behind his head, smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Using someone else’s name isn’t very nice,” he said.

Salamander’s eyes widened.

“Someone else’s name?” Lucy repeated.

_We were hoping to meet up with a family member. But it’s not looking like he’s around._

_Oh_… she realized.

Salamander’s shock quickly turned to anger as he finally let go of Lucy’s wrist. “And who are you to accuse me of something like that? I’m a Fairy Tail wizard!”

It almost seemed as if Natsu’s entire persona shifted. His eyes darkened, and Lucy swore his pupil’s turned to slits. He bared his teeth, and the sharpened fangs she’d only caught sight of briefly before, were on full display. Smoke escaped from the corners of his mouth as he clenched his fists. “A Fairy Tail wizard by the name of Salamander?”

Lucy felt something paw at her ankle, and she looked down to find Happy. “You might want to stand back,” he warned. Lucy didn’t need to be told twice as she scrambled backwards, many of the people on the street doing the same as they felt the surge of magic in the air.

She liked to think she was good at reading and sensing others’ magical power, and she knew Natsu was more powerful than whoever this wizard was (not Salamander, _that_ much was obvious), but it didn’t appear he noticed. Or if he did, he didn’t have the sense to back down.

“You ain’t no Fairy Tail wizard,” Natsu snarled. “And you sure as hell ain’t no Salamander!”

Salamander threw his arms out, sending a wave of fire towards Natsu.

The crowd, and Lucy, screamed, before beginning to scatter, fleeing the fight scene. Lucy ducked behind a bench, peering over, wanting to watch. She hoped the bench was enough to protect her from any major damage.

Natsu laughed as the fire hit him. “Man, this is disgusting.”

That was when Lucy realized he was _eating_ the fire. Salamander’s jaw dropped, before he began sputtering.

“How did he do that?” she demanded, pointed to Natsu.

Happy, who looked far too calm for the situation, licked his paw. “He’s a fire dragon slayer. Fire ain’t gonna hurt him.”

And he was right. Natsu was completely unharmed, though he still looked pretty pissed. Although Lucy felt kind of like an idiot. She probably should have realized he was some type of fire wizard after he started breathing smoke. She didn’t have any idea what a dragon slayer was, though.

Natsu took in a deep breath, before shouting _“Fire dragon roar!”_

“Oh great,” Happy mumbled. “Erza’s gonna yell at us for destroying things again.” He hopped up onto the bench for a better vantage point.

Bright red flames exploded from Natsu’s mouth.

Lucy threw herself to the ground, hiding from the insane heat that came from them.

Salamander screamed as the fire ravaged over him, sending him careening into a brick wall. Natsu leaped after him, pouncing on his prey, his movements more animal-like than human. He pinned his scorched body to the ground, and even from her distance, Lucy could tell that his nails were cutting deep enough to draw blood from the man’s shoulders. “As a Fairy Tail wizard, I don’t ever wanna hear you actin’ like one of our members ever again,” Natsu said, leaning down, baring his odd, pointed teeth.

Salamander nodded vigorously, abandoning the misplaced pride in his own abilities.

Natsu snorted a puff of smoke into the man’s face. “And don’t you _dare_ use the name Salamander again. Do it, and I’ll kill ya.”

“I promise,” he wheezed.

A light breeze blew over the stench of smoldering flesh, and Lucy gagged. It took everything in her not to throw up. Happy didn’t seem to mind. He just continued to lick his fur.

Natsu responded with a curt nod, seemingly pleased, and got up.

It took the other wizard a few moments to stagger to his feet, and when he did, Lucy’s nausea only worsened. From her angle, she hadn’t seen the man after he’d been caught up in Natsu’s fire, seen the extent of his damage. His face was blistered and swollen, sloughs of skin already peeling off. His clothes were in tatters, the skin beneath not much better off. Blood from Natsu’s nails dripped from the mangled flesh and onto the pavement.

Frankly, Lucy had no idea how the man was _alive,_ let alone functioning.

Natsu skipped back over to Happy, grinning madly, and scooped the cat up in his arms, as if he hadn’t just nearly killed someone. “Let’s be headin’ back, Hap. I’m sure the guild’s missin’ us.”

Happy let out a happy purr and climbed onto Natsu’s shoulders.

As he turned to go, Lucy leaped to her feet. “Wait!”

He turned back around.

“Are you really a Fairy Tail wizard?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Fairy Tail wizards were her _idols_. She’d admired the guild for as long as she could remember, and had wanted to join ever since she was a little kid. As vicious and strange as Natsu was, she couldn’t let this opportunity just slip by.

“Sure am!” He jabbed a thumb to his chest. “Natsu Dragneel, the Dragon of Fairy Tail!”

Lucy’s eyes widened. Natsu _Dragneel!_ She had no idea how she hadn’t recognized him! She’d read all about him! He had a destructive streak, so much of one he’d become somewhat of a symbol for all of Fairy Tail’s demolitions (and she could now see it wasn’t exaggerated), and was well known for his ancient, unusual magic, that no one but his guild seemed to understand.

And they weren’t sharing with anyone.

“Please take me to Fairy Tail!” she begged. “I’ve wanted to join ever since I can remember!” She held out her keys. “I promise I’m a powerful celestial spirit wizard. I even have some zodiac keys!”

Natsu cocked his head. “What do you think, Happy?”

The cat cocked his head as well. “Well, she did give us all that food, so we kind of owe her a favor.”

Natsu nodded. “Just what I was thinking. Alright, Lucy! I’ll introduce you to the rest of Fairy Tail!”


	2. There's No Place Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu gets Lucy back to the guild, breaks the bad news to Wendy, and Gray and Erza come up with a plan to help cheer up and distract Natsu

The girl… Lucy-something-or-other…. She was  _ normal.  _

Natsu knew that maybe it was a little soon to be assuming such things, but between his sense of smell, and a gut feeling, he knew it. 

Which was fine. Fairy Tail wasn’t  _ just _ for people like him. Actually, most of them  _ were _ normal. Lucy would fit in just fine with them. 

He wished he could sleep to pass the travel time, but between the motion sickness, and not wanting to risk having a nightmare in front of a stranger, he didn’t even try. 

Happy, the lucky bastard, had curled up in Natsu’s lap, and slept soundly. 

The girl had fallen asleep as well, in the seat across from him. Her blonde hair fell into her eyes, and her face was squished against the window she leaned against. 

Unable to help himself, Natsu leaned over, sniffing at the girl. 

_ Yep. _ He leaned back.  _ Very normal. _

He had a feeling she wouldn’t spend much time with him, Gray, and Erza. Based on her reaction to him after his fight (as much as he played dumb, he knew how he made people feel), she wouldn’t be able to handle them. 

She might not even handle the Strauss siblings, Loke, Cana, or Wendy well, either. And they were pretty tame, as far as the  _ not-normal _ members of the guild went. 

He sighed. It didn’t matter. If she still wanted to join after seeing the guildhall and actually meeting the members, it wasn’t like she had to have anything else to do with him, if she didn’t want to. 

He had a feeling she wouldn’t. 

* * *

Her excitement to join the guild didn’t diminish in the slightest. Even after a brawl had erupted in the guildhall. 

After everyone calmed down, Natsu and Happy shuffled over to their usual seats, plates of food in hand. 

Lucy had distracted him from thinking about Igneel (which may have been part of the reason he’d been so eager to bring her to Fairy Tail), but that distraction had gone away now, leaving him to face the reality that it had been a false lead. 

Just like Erza had warned him. 

He sighed. 

“You didn’t find anything, did you?” Wendy asked as she sat in the seat across from him, her own cat, Charle, following. 

Natsu shook his head. “No. It was just some guy impersonating me.” 

“Oh.” Wendy looked down. “I’m sorry. I’d hoped it was real.” 

Natsu sighed. Wendy was the only one who understood his situation perfectly. What, with her being in the exact same one. 

Her mother, Grandine, had vanished the same day Igneel had. And not a single dragon had been heard of since the two of them had been found by a Fairy Tail wizard. 

They’d not heard from Gajeel, Sting, or Rogue either. Their whole family had vanished off the face of the Earth, leaving them alone. 

Sure, Fairy Tail had become like a family to them, too, but that didn’t mean they didn’t miss their old one, wanted to see them again. 

“Yeah, me too,” he finally said. “I miss them.” 

She nodded, as they lapsed into silence. Charle and Happy argued about something, but Natsu tuned them out. 

He hadn’t really even enjoyed fighting with Gray earlier, as he normally would have. 

He was sure he’d be fine by tomorrow. He just needed some time to accept that he’d been given false hope. 

Damn. Erza really had been right. 

Wendy’s lip began to wobble. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” Her eyes filled with tears, and Natsu regretted telling her about the rumor. He should have kept it a secret until he had checked if it was legit. 

Wendy had probably been even more hopeful than he had been. She was only twelve, after all. 

“Yeah, sure.” He leaned across the table and ruffled her hair. It’d been a while since she’d slept with him, which showed just how upset she was. 

Lucy ran up to their table, waving her hand to show off her new pink guildmark. “Look! I’m a Fairy Tail wizard!” 

Natsu hummed. “Congratulations, Luigi!” 

Lucy stomped her foot. “It’s Lucy!” Then she smiled at Wendy. “Hi! Are you a member too?” 

Wendy nodded. “Yeah, I’m Natsu’s little sister. We joined at the same time.” 

“Oh!” Lucy clasped her hands together. “Wendy, right? You have air magic, don’t you?” 

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, basically.” She gave Natsu glance, as if asking if it was okay to talk about the dragon slayer aspect of it. 

He shrugged. Happy had more or less told Lucy anyway,  _ and _ she’d seen it in action, _and_ she was a guild member now. There was no point in trying to hide it. 

Besides, Wendy had just as much of a right to decide who got to know what they were as he did. She didn’t need to ask his permission. 

“It’s dragon slayer magic,” she said. 

Lucy slid into the booth next to Natsu. “Dragon slayer magic. Happy and Natsu said something about that earlier. What exactly is that?” 

Natsu placed his hands behind his head and leaned back. Wendy was better at explaining this stuff than him anyways. 

“Well,” his sister began. “We were raised by dragons, and they taught us ancient magic that was used for slaying evil dragons, and it basically gives us the abilities of a dragon. Natsu learned fire dragon slayer magic from his father, and I learned sky dragon slayer magic from my mother.” 

Lucy’s eyes widened as she leaned across the table. “You guys were raised by dragons!?” 

“Yeah!” Wendy and Natsu said together. 

“Dragons are real?” she asked. 

Wendy nodded vigorously, while Natsu rolled his eyes. Of course dragons were real! How could they have been raised by them, if they weren’t? 

Lucy turned to Natsu. “Is that why your teeth are pointy like that? And your eyes went all weird when you fought?” 

He stiffened. 

“You  _ fought?”  _ Erza demanded, seemingly summoned by the words. 

Wendy gave him a concerned look, and mouthed  _ Your eyes?  _

Great. Now Natsu had to have  _ two _ fun conversations thanks to Lucy. 

“Come on, Erza!” he whined. “He was pretending to be me! And using illegal magic! I couldn’t just leave him alone.” 

Her glare didn’t soften, but she sighed. “Well, I suppose it didn’t get too out of hand, considering we haven’t been billed by the city of Hargeon for property damage.” 

He sagged in his seat. 

“And I’m sorry to hear that the rumor proved to be false,” she said, leaning around Lucy to place a hand on his shoulder. 

Lucy leaned onto the table, and gave Wendy a look, before squirming around Erza and darting off to somewhere else in the guildhall. 

Natsu grunted. “I should have known it was.” 

“Still,” Erza said, taking Lucy’s place, making Natsu much more comfortable. “It’s okay to be upset by it. I’d recommend not taking any requests for the next few days.” 

“I’m not gonna do that!” he exclaimed. “It’s boring to just sit around here all the time! And I’m fine!” 

She shook her head and chuckled. “Well, if you’re sure. Just be careful.” 

“Natsu…” Wendy interrupted, voice worried. “Did your eyes really change? Have you been feeling funny again? Like when your teeth did?” 

“I-I don’t know, Wendy,” he replied. “It’s not like I can see them. Are they different now?” 

“Well no…” She tapped her fingers on the table. “But your teeth didn’t change all at once either.” 

“Natsu, you must be sure to tell us if this gets worse so we can help you,” Erza reminded him. 

“I will, I promise.” And he did. If he’d known his eyes had changed, he would have told them as soon as he got home. 

He remembered when his fangs grew in. How a little over a year ago, his teeth had began aching, and one by one, eight of them had fallen out. Four on bottom, four on top, to be replaced by the fangs he had now. 

Everyone in the guild had been freaking out, worried he’d been exposed to some horrible magic that was doing weird stuff to him, but then nothing else had happened. 

They’d done as much research as they could, but they never  _ had _ found out what exactly had happened, and nothing else went wrong with him, so they eventually let it go. 

Then a few months ago, he’d gotten that funny feeling in his chest, and he’d started breathing smoke, if he didn’t work hard to control it, and the research efforts had picked up again. 

So far they hadn’t found anything, but if his eyes were doing weird things now, then whatever this was clearly hadn’t run its course yet. 

“Make sure you let Levy know,” Erza said. “Any new information may help her find something out.” 

Natsu nodded. “I’ll be sure to tell her. You ready to go home, Wendy?” He didn’t feel like being around everyone in the guildhall at the moment. Just Wendy. Just the one who understood. 

And she did understand. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Erza asked, as she got up to let Natsu out of the booth. 

“Yeah, ‘course, Erza,” he said. “We just want a little quiet right now.” 

She offered them a small smile. “Of course. You okay if me and Mira bring you by some food later?” 

Natsu was about to tell her  _ not tonight, _ but at Wendy’s smile, he said, “Yeah, if you want to. It’s a little messy though.” 

Erza laughed. “Your dragon den is always messy.” 

* * *

“I’m worried about him,” Erza said. 

Gray groaned. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Erz.” And he was. Natsu always bounced back from stuff like this. He may mope for a few days, but eventually, he would get over it. 

She whacked him on the back of the head. 

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” he demanded, twisting around in his chair to glare at her. 

“Be nice, you two,” Mira said from behind the bar. 

“Yeah,” Cana slurred, slumped over the bar. “I don’t wanna hear ya.” 

Gray rolled his eyes. Cana never wanted to hear anyone. 

“You’re not taking this seriously,” Erza said, ignoring the other women as she stabbed angrily at her food. “Not only did his lead turn out to be a bust, but now Wendy’s upset too, and that weird… illness? Whatever it is, might be acting up again.” 

Gray frowned. That  _ was _ a little more than what Natsu was used to dealing with at once. “Alright then, what are you wanting us to do about it?” 

“It’s been a while since the three of us went on a job request. Just the three of us, I mean. Maybe it would cheer him up. Or at least distract him for a while,” she suggested. 

“Oh, that sounds like a great idea!” Mira said. “I’m sure he’d love that.” 

Gray huffed, but smiled. It  _ had _ been a while since just the three of them had been out on a request together. Recently, Wendy had been tagging along, finally old enough to go on jobs, and Mira joined quite often since her and Erza had begun dating. Occasionally, even Elfman and Cana might tag along, if it was a dangerous enough job. 

“I’m down,” he said. “Have you got a job in mind?” 

Erza smirked. “Actually, yes. It’s an S-class quest. And I know it’s technically against the rules, but if I’m with you two, it should be okay, and an S-class quest would  _ really _ cheer him up. He’s wanted to go on one for a long time.” 

Gray shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” He didn’t care what the job was, so long as he got paid, and maybe got to have a little fun. 

Erza smiled. “Great! I’ll tell him tonight when Mira and I go over.” 

He nodded. While the three of them had been close since they were little kids, he wouldn’t deny that Erza was closer to Natsu than he was. She’d be much better suited to cheering him up than he would. “Tell him I hope things start looking up soon.” 

Erza’s smile widened. “Of course!” 

* * *

Gray shuffled home, hand clutched to his chest. 

The black mark on it was  _ spreading, _ and it wouldn’t be long before others stopped believing his lie of having spilled some ink on it. 

Ink washed off. Ink stains didn’t get  _ bigger.  _

He should tell the guild. Or at least Natsu and Erza. 

Something was wrong with him. Or at the very least,  _ happening _ to him. Black marks didn’t just appear on people. 

Sure, nothing else had happened, but it didn’t mean it was going to stay that way. 

Natsu had told them about  _ his _ weird thing, so why couldn’t Gray muster up the courage to do it? 

Maybe he could convince himself to do it tomorrow. 

* * *

Natsu and Wendy were snuggled together on the couch, Happy and Charle napping on their laps, when Erza and Mira arrived. 

He groaned when he heard them knock, not wanting to get up. 

“I’ll get it,” Wendy said, hopping up, dislodging an unhappy Charle. “I wonder what they brought us. Miss Mirajane is such a good cook!” 

He heard her let in the couple, and heard them chatting about how messy the house was, did you repaint the kitchen recently, and how they really needed to come over more often. 

Natsu chuckled. The girls probably didn’t realize how lucky they were. He and Wendy were very particular about who they let in their house. The list being Erza, Gray, Mira, Makarov, Gildarts, and, once upon a time, Lisanna. 

They couldn’t really explain it, why they felt so territorial and protective of it, but right after they’d finished building the house, several guild members had tried coming over, but they soon quit trying after being faced with two very grumpy dragon slayers, who obviously didn’t like others in their home. 

It was just added to the list of things that made Natsu and Wendy  _ other.  _

He forced himself off the couch to go enjoy dinner with his sister and two of his best friends. He didn’t want to sit around moping, feeling sorry for himself. 

Igneel wouldn’t want him to do that. 

“Natsu!” Erza exclaimed as soon as she saw him. “How would you like to go on a job request with Gray and I in the next few days?” 

Natsu’s eyes zeroed in on the casserole Mira had in her arms, but he managed to reply. “Uh, sure. Who else is going?” 

“Just the three of us,” she answered. She smiled at Wendy. “Sorry, Wendy, I would invite you, but it’s an S-class quest, and I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” 

She nodded. “It’s okay, I understand Miss Erza.” 

Erza chuckled and shook her head. They’d all told Wendy many times she didn’t have to call members of the guild “Mister” or “Miss,” but she couldn’t seem to shake the habit. 

“An S-class quest?” Natsu couldn’t help but ask as he got some plates out of the cabinets for them. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes!” Erza exclaimed. “I know you’ve wanted to do one for a while, and I thought this would be a good practice run for you and Gray, with the S-class exam coming up in about six months!” 

He hummed, suspecting this also had something to do with cheering him up, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Sounds good to me.” 

If Erza thought it was a relatively safe mission, what could possibly go wrong? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I told you there were gonna be wild updates. Thanks for reading! :D


	3. A Theory and a Quest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wendy comes up with a theory about what's been going on with Natsu, and Gray, Erza, and Natsu embark on their S-class quest

_ Pain laced his entire body, dug into every cell.  _

_ He had no idea where the pain came from. He didn’t think he was hurt anywhere. Or at least, he didn’t  _ remember _ getting hurt.  _

_ A hand rested on his head. “It’ll be okay, Natsu. It’ll be over soon.”  _

_ The voice was soft, soothing.  _ Familiar. _ _

_ He wished the voice would talk more, but it rarely did. He could sense that the owner of the voice was almost always nearby, but he was so silent, so distant… He always felt so alone.  _

_ He tried to move, but could do little more than get his fingers to twitch, and even that was nearly impossible.  _

_ There were so many things he should know, that he should remember, but there was nothing.  _

_ Always nothing.  _

* * *

Natsu awoke with a jerk, startling Wendy. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You were twitching in your sleep really bad.” 

He sat up with a groan. “I think I had another nightmare…” He  _ assumed _ they were nightmares. He could never remember them, but according to others, he always seemed distressed in his sleep. 

“I thought so,” she said. “Miss Porlyusica taught me how to make sleeping medicine recently. You could try that.” She leaned against his shoulder. 

“No, it’s okay,” he said. “It’s not like it actually bothers me that much.” How could it, when he could never remember the dreams? 

“If you’re sure,” she said. “It’s just… that you were growling, and you usually only do that when you’re really upset.” 

“Oh.” He smiled at her. “I promise I’m fine, Wendy. I’ll be okay.” 

Her frown deepened. “Natsu… I’ve been thinking….” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Do you think… all the things going on with you… might have something to do with our magic?” 

He jerked his head up. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, I’m not really sure,” she said. “But our magic is supposed to give us dragon abilities, right? Is it so weird that it would give us… other dragon characteristics too? Like your teeth, and the way you’ve started to breathe smoke?” 

He hummed. “I guess that makes sense? Maybe. But if that was true, wouldn’t the same thing be happening to you?” 

Not that he wanted the same things to start happening to Wendy, but that was definitely a point against her theory. 

“I actually thought about that,” she said, leaning away and holding a finger up. “And my theory is, it might, eventually. But you’re older than me,  _ and _ use your magic more often. Maybe it’s because of one of those two things, or a mix of both.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I guess it makes sense, but I’m not good at this kind of stuff. Maybe you should ask Levy, or even Gramps, see what they think.” 

“Okay, I’ll talk with them while you’re on your quest with Erza and Gray,” she said, hopping out of bed. “We really need to figure out what’s going on with you, and if it’s dangerous.” 

He huffed. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” And he was! “I think if it was gonna be dangerous, bad stuff would have happened already.” 

“That’s not a good way of dealing with things,” Wendy sighed. 

Natsu shrugged. Sure, he’d  _ like _ to know what was happening to him, but he still didn’t think it was all that dangerous, just a little weird. And if Wendy’s new theory was true, well, that wasn’t  _ that _ bad. What was the worst it could do? Turn him into a dragon? He doubted that. So it was just another odd dragon slayer thing to navigate. That was fine. 

“You guys are leaving today, right? You better get to the guildhall,” she said. 

“Fuck!” Natsu scrambled out of bed. Erza was going to kill him if he was late! 

* * *

“Natsu sure is taking his time,” Gray mumbled. 

Erza paced back and forth, antsy. She didn’t like not leaving or getting places at agreed times. If they didn’t stick to schedules, how was any type of order to be kept? 

“Hey, settle down,” he said. “He’ll be here, you know how he is. He probably just lost track of time. It’s not a big deal, we’ll still make it there by this evening.” 

She huffed, but stopped her pacing. 

Gray smirked, and she glared at him. 

Erza liked to think, that for the most part, most people didn’t have her figured out. Personality-wise, anyways. Didn’t know quite how to read her, how to handle her. 

Gray (and Natsu and Mira), were probably the only three that knew exactly how she ticked, and every now and then, it still took her by surprise. 

Sure, she’d grown up with Natsu and Gray, the three of them had been inseparable since they were twelve years old, it made sense that they knew everything about her, and by extension, her odd little ticks and all the ways they could help her with them. 

Such as noticing that timing stressed her out, and pointing out that it wasn’t a big deal, and wouldn’t affect the schedule she had made much. 

She appreciated it. 

She sat next to him on the porch outside the guildhall, and pointed to his hand. “That ink stain sure is taking a while to fade.” 

Gray began rubbing his hand, thumb brushing the stain. “Yeah. That’s the last time I bump Levy’s stuff.” 

Her eyes narrowed. Something in his voice… 

But she decided to let it go. This was supposed to be a… well, not a fun mission, but something close, and she didn’t want to start it out by getting into it with Gray, over something that was most likely nothing. 

A few moments later, Natsu raced up to the guildhall, Happy trailing behind him. 

“You’re late!” Gray accused. 

“Am not!” Natsu argued. “No one told me a time!” 

“I did last night,” Erza reminded him. 

He grinned. “Don’t remember!” 

She sighed. As hard as she tried, there were still times she couldn’t tell if Natsu was playing dumb, or if he genuinely didn’t know or had forgotten something. 

“You do, too!” Gray accused, leaving the argument to escalate as they left Magnolia. 

* * *

Levy was quite confused when Wendy skipped up to her that morning, Charle padding at her heels. Hadn’t Natsu gone on a job request with Erza and Gray earlier? Why wasn’t she with them? “Good morning, Wendy.”

The little dragon slayer climbed onto the barstool next to her. “Good morning, Miss Levy. I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“Of course!” she said, twisting on her stool to better face her. “What is it?” Did it have something to do with being left behind? 

Levy wasn’t exceptionally close with Natsu and his crew, but she was closer than most of the other guild members, so without that trio around, it made sense that Wendy might come to her. 

“Well, you know how you’ve been researching what’s been happening to Natsu?” she asked. 

Levy’s eyebrows knit together. That  _ definitely _ hadn’t been what she was expecting. “Yes.” She hoped Natsu hadn’t gotten worse,  _ or _ that Wendy wasn't asking if she’d found anything. As good at research and reading as she was, Levy just couldn’t find a single illness, spell, curse, or  _ anything _ that could be doing this to her friend. It was frustrating and upsetting. 

“Well…” Wendy began to fidget. 

“Oh, just tell her, Wendy,” Charle said as she hopped onto the bar. “Natsu didn’t think your idea was silly, and neither is Levy.” 

“Yeah, but Natsu doesn’t ever think my ideas are silly,” she said, looking down. “And Miss Levy is much smarter than him.” 

“Wendy…” Levy leaned over and rubbed her back, knowing how well the little girl responded to touch. “I promise you, I won’t think your idea is silly or make fun of you.” 

“See, I told you.” Charle stalked down the bar, probably to pester other members for food. 

“Okay.” Wendy took a deep breath. “So I was thinking, you know how Natsu and I’s magic gives us dragon abilities?” 

Levy nodded. Dragon slayer magic. It was fascinating, but so ancient and obscure, she’d found very little reference to it in literature, let alone information as to how it actually worked, or affected the mage that used it. 

“Well, I realized that everything that’s happening to Natsu could be dragon related. Pointy teeth, breathing smoke, and that new wizard that joined, Miss Lucy, she said his eyes turned funny when he fought.” She tapped the counter. “What if our magic makes us more like dragons the more we use it?” 

As soon as she finished her explanation, Levy wanted to kick herself for not thinking of it sooner. It made perfect sense! And explained why nothing like what was happening to Natsu had ever been recorded before. 

Hadn’t she just been thinking about it, seconds before? There was next to no information on dragon slayers! It was completely possible something like that could happen! “Wendy, that’s brilliant!” she exclaimed. 

The girl’s eyes widened. “R-Really?” 

“Yes!” Levy hopped off her barstool. “And now we finally have an actual theory! I can begin to actually  _ research _ now. I have an actual direction.” She clapped her hands together. “Not to mention, I’m sure Natsu and everyone else will be relieved if this proves to be true. That means it’s probably not life threatening, and might even be a normal process.” 

Wendy smiled. “So this will really help?” 

“Of course,” she said, gently grabbing Wendy’s hand. “I’m doing everything I can to help your brother. This will really help me do that.” 

“Can I help you research?” she asked, hopping off her stool as well. “Natsu’ll be gone for a few days. He went on a request with Erza and Gray. I think they miss spending time with just each other.” 

She didn’t seem hurt by the idea. Quite the opposite, actually, which relieved Levy. She wasn’t quite sure how to handle sibling disputes. 

“Of course,” she said. “We’ll head to the library after some breakfast. Do you need somewhere to stay while Natsu’s gone?” 

She shook her head. “No, the house is fine. It’ll be a little quiet, but I’ll have Charle.” 

Levy almost argued, but she knew how weird Wendy and Natsu were with their house, so she let it go. Besides, it wasn’t like Wendy didn’t know how to protect herself, should something happen. “If you’re sure,” she said. “Come on, let’s get some waffles.” 

* * *

“We want you to destroy the moon,” the villager said. 

“Uh…” Gray had  _ no _ idea what to do with that. “Excuse me?” 

Natsu punched the air. “Hell yeah! Let’s destroy the moon!” 

Erza grabbed his arm, quickly calming him down, but much to Gray’s chagrin, she didn’t immediately shut down the  _ destroying the moon _ idea. 

He barely listened to the rest of Erza and Natsu’s conversation with the villages. 

Something was  _ wrong _ with this island. He couldn’t explain it. And it was something much more wrong than whatever magic or curse was transforming the villagers. 

He’d tried mentioning it, soon after setting foot on the land, but Erza and Natsu didn’t know what he was talking about, hadn’t seemed able to sense… whatever it was he was sensing. 

Which was extremely concerning. Normally, he was the last one out of the group to sense or predict  _ wrongness.  _ Natsu’s heightened senses, and Erza’s… well, whatever it was Erza had, often left him in the dust when it came to those types of things. 

So why was it different now? Why could he  _ feel _ whatever this was? 

It made his chest ache. 

They left the village behind, Gray trailing after Natsu and Erza, still too focused on this feeling to really listen to them. 

“Gray?” Erza asked, gently shaking his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Fine,” he muttered. “What did you say?” 

“I said, I don’t think it’s the moon doing this,” she said. 

Natsu pouted. 

“But there  _ is _ something wrong on this island,” she continued. “We need to figure out what it actually is.” 

He nodded. Whatever the bad thing he sensed was, it didn’t make him want to run away. It scared him, sure, but something in him wanted to  _ find _ it, to  _ destroy _ it, and he couldn’t do that if he ran away. 

“I’m going to go see if I can find anything else out from the villagers,” she said. “Why don’t you two start looking around the island? I’ll catch up.” 

Gray didn’t think they should separate, but he didn’t have a good enough reason to protest her plan, so he nodded. 

He trailed after the dragon slayer for about half an hour, letting him follow his nose and go wherever he and Happy liked. 

Which, evidently, was enough to tip Natsu off that something was wrong. 

Which was  _ really _ saying something. 

“You okay, man?” he asked, nudging Gray’s shoulder with his own. “Do you really think something is off here, like you said earlier?” 

He shrugged. “I dunno, man. I can’t really explain it. Like I said, it’s just wrong, you know?” 

Natsu frowned. “I don’t… because something here feels  _ right _ to me, familiar, almost.” 

_ That _ didn’t sit well with Gray. “What do you mean?” 

He shrugged again, plopping down on a rock. “Like you said, can’t explain it.” 

“You’re both being weird,” Happy said, as he eyed a bird, clearly wanting to hunt it down. 

Gray sat next to him. “I’m beginning to suspect this might not be as fun as Erza made it seem.” 

Natsu laughed. “I don’t know. Maybe this will just make it more interesting.” 

He nudged at a stick with his foot. Natsu was notorious for downplaying things, but that was pretty bad. “I don’t think so.” 

Natsu’s bright smile disappeared. “Oh.” 

“Come on.” He got back up. “We should keep moving, or Erza will yell at us for letting her do all the work.” 

He didn’t notice how much the black mark had spread since they came to the island. 

* * *

Natsu wanted nothing more than to grab Gray’s hand and demand to know what that black mark was. 

He’d noticed it a few days ago, (well, after Erza pointed it out), and asked, but Gray had brushed him off, claiming he’d bumped Levy’s work table and spilled ink on his hand. Natsu had no reason not to believe him, so he let it go. 

But that mark had definitely gotten bigger in the past hour or so, and he knew he wasn’t the brightest, but he was pretty sure ink stains didn’t get bigger. 

That, coupled with how on edge Gray was, really suggested something was wrong with his friend.

Too bad Gray was really terrible at admitting when something was wrong. 

Good thing Natsu could be really annoying. “Graaaaaay,” he whined, as they walked through a cave they had found. “You figure out what that feeling was yet?” 

“No, Natsu,” he growled. 

He grinned. “You sure? Because that familiar feeling for me is getting stronger.” Not to mention, he smelt something very odd in this cave. 

Gray huffed. “I don’t think that’s a good thing.” 

And maybe it wasn’t. He suspected the thing giving him a good feeling was the same thing giving Gray the bad feeling, but at least that meant it would be easy to hunt down. 

Did it have something to do with his strange illness? Had Wendy’s theory been wrong? 

They rounded a corner, and Natsu’s jaw dropped. “Woah, Gray, check this out!” 

A giant purple crystal took up nearly the entire cavern. Or maybe it wasn’t a crystal. Maybe it was ice. He wasn’t sure. The way the moonlight shown on it, almost made it glow. 

Inside the crystal, a giant monster of some sort was frozen, horrifying features forced into a permanent roar. 

Was it dead? Or was it somehow alive in there? 

What  _ was _ it? Why was something so familiar about its presence? 

“What the hell is that?” he asked, strutting forward to poke at the crystal. 

He heard a thump behind him, and whipped his head around. “Gray?” 

Gray had fallen to his knees, tears in his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having way too much fun foreshadowing that Natsu is a demon lmao


	4. Deliora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu, Erza, and Gray deal with Deliora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ended up being super Gray-centric whoops (jk I love him)

Horrible pangs of grief clawed at Gray’s chest. 

How was he here? How was  _ she _ here? Deliora… Ur… He hadn’t seen them in so long, never thinking he’d see them again. 

Was this why he sensed this horrible presence? Had he become so attuned to the suffering caused by Deliora that his body wanted to warn him he was close? 

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying not to picture his village’s, his  _ parents' _ mangled corpses, Ur’s last, sad smile, before she disappeared forever. 

* * *

_ He curled against his mother’s side, her body growing ever colder. He tried not to look at the blood trickling from her nose and the corners of her mouth, tried to ignore the organs and gore that seeped from the gaping hole in her abdomen.  _

_ He thought some of her blood might have soaked into his clothes. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He just wanted her  _ back. 

_ His father laid not too far away, eyes open and unseeing, blood still sluggishly dripping from the gash in his forehead.  _

_ Why was  _ he _ still alive? Why had he been allowed to live and they hadn’t?  _

No one _ else had? The village was silent, except for Deliora’s roars. The screaming had long since stopped, ever since the last person had been torn to shreds.  _

_ So Gray laid next to his mother, playing dead, and praying there were others like him. He wasn’t sure how long he lied there, shivering and biting back sobs, when a cool hand grasped his shoulder. He would have screamed, had another hand not covered his mouth.  _

_ “Sshh,” she whispered. “We can’t let him hear us. I need to get you out of here before he realizes what your family was. What  _ you _ are.” She pulled him to his feet, careful not to disturb the rubble around them.  _

_ Too shocked and terrified to protest, Gray let the strange woman carry him away.  _

* * *

“Gray! Hey! Gray!” Natsu shook his shoulders, a worried look in his wide, onyx eyes. 

He shook his head. “I’m fine…” he muttered. 

Natsu frowned, but some of the tension left his body. “You’re not.” 

Gray grit his teeth and forced himself back to his feet. Collapsing wasn’t going to help anyone, and he needed to find out exactly how Deliora had gotten to this island. He took a step towards Ur and Deliora. 

“What’s that on your hand, Gray?” Natsu asked. 

_ There’s nothing on my hand!  _ he almost snapped, but stopped when he felt Happy prop himself up on Gray’s leg and nose at his hand. He glanced down, and saw that the black mark had expanded, covering nearly his entire hand. His eyes widened. “I-I don’t know,” he stammered. “It… It just appeared, and I… I don’t know.” 

Natsu grabbed his hand and held it up to his face. “It feels like regular skin,” he said. 

Gray pulled it back. “It’s not important right now.” 

Natsu's frown deepened as he narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure? Because it’s gotten worse and worse since we’ve gotten to this island. I’ve been watching it.” 

“He’s right, Gray,” Happy said as he climbed up Natsu to rest on his shoulders. “It has.” 

He clutched his hand to his chest. “Even if it is, I don’t know what it is. How am I supposed to do anything about it?” 

Natsu shrugged. “Guess you’re right.” Then he jerked his head to Deliora and Ur. “So you know what that thing is, huh?” 

“Yeah.” He took a shaky breath. “That’s-That’s Deliora.” 

Natsu’s eyes grew comically wide, then hardened, and Gray swore his pupils shrank to slits for a moment. “The demon that killed your family.” 

He nodded. 

“What the hell is it doin’ here?” he snarled. 

Gray shook his head. “I have no idea. Someone must have moved him for some reason.” His frown deepened. The only other person who knew where Deliora and Ur were, was Lyon… but that didn’t make sense. Sure, it’d been years since he’d heard from him, but Gray knew that he would never do something like that without telling him first. 

Someone else must have found Deliora by chance. Or maybe not even chance, maybe they had been looking for him. Whatever the case, they couldn’t have any good plans if a demon was involved. 

Ever so gently, not sure what he was expecting, Gray laid his hand on the ice that Ur had become. The cold bit into his fingers. 

Natsu paced the length of the cavern, and Gray knew he must be pretty pissed on his behalf, if the smoke pouring from his nose and mouth was anything to go by. Happy leaped off his shoulders with a sneeze. 

Normally, keeping Natsu from going on one of his rampages was a number one priority, but Gray was so thrown and upset himself at the moment, that he couldn’t even fathom trying to calm the dragon slayer down. 

He took a deep breath. He needed to focus, and treat this like he would any other problem. Someone had plans with a demon? Well, then they wouldn’t leave it in a cave unattended for long. Eventually, they would have to come back, to either move the demon again, or to use it for whatever they needed it for. 

“We’ll stay here, and wait for whoever brought Deliora here to come back,” Gray decided. 

Natsu nodded. “Happy, why don’t you go find Erza and show her back here?” he suggested. 

“Aye, sir!” He bounded off. 

“Fuck, can you stop huffing smoke, Natsu?” Gray said. “It smells like a campfire in here.” 

The dragon slayer glared at him, but did try to keep the smoke to a minimum. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “It gets worse when I’m emotional.” 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he said, finally backing away from the ice. He sat on the ground, staring at it. 

“Think that’s what happened to that mark on your hand?” he asked, still pacing. 

Gray didn’t reply. He just looked down at his hand, and began to rub where the black mark met the normal skin of his wrist. 

It wasn’t quick enough that he could actually  _ see _ it spreading, but something told him it still was. 

Natsu continued to pester him with questions about the mark, about Deliora, not deterred one bit by his silence. 

Gray leaned his head back against the cave wall. As much as he tried to keep the memories from coming, they still did. 

* * *

_ “Teach me ice magic!” Gray exclaimed.  _

_ Ur glanced down at him, then began to laugh. “You want to learn ice magic?”  _

_ He frowned. Why was that funny?  _

_ She realized he was serious, and raised an eyebrow. “There’s not… a different type you’d… be more interested in?”  _

_ Gray crossed his arms. “No! I want to learn what you have! Lyon’s learning it, why can’t I?”  _

_ She shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I will teach you, if that’s what you really want. I just thought… never mind.”  _

_ Gray pretended he didn’t notice the confusion in her voice. And the concern.  _

* * *

_ She’d been training him for about six months when it happened.  _

_ Lyon woke him up in the middle of the night, claiming that someone had come looking for Gray, and was talking to Ur now.  _

_ Gray didn’t believe him. For one thing, it was the middle of the night. Who came and visited in the middle of the night, even if it was important?  _

_ The second reason… well, Gray didn’t have anyone who  _ would _ come looking for him. He’d seen his parents' bodies with his own eyes, and while he couldn’t be sure that everyone in his village had been dead, even  _ if _ they knew he was alive, he doubted he was important enough to any of them for them to track him down and try to take him from Ur.  _

_ So he crept through the house, wanting to get close enough to hear the supposed conversation that Lyon was talking about.  _

_ “You know what the boy is, what he’s capable of,” a voice said. “And yet you’ve chosen to harbor him? Teach him  _ magic? _ You know that will only make it worse for him.”  _

_ Gray froze. Were they talking about him? Had Lyon been telling the truth?  _

_ He peered around the corner. Ur stood facing him, and the man she spoke with stood with his back to him, leaving Gray unable to see what he looked like. But even from the back, he was fairly certain he didn’t recognize him.  _

_ When Ur didn’t reply, the man continued. “His father is the one that attracted Deliora to that backwater village. It’s only a matter of time before the same things begin stirring in the boy.”  _

_ Ur glared. “Yes, I am aware. And  _ that _ is the reason I am teaching him magic. Sure, ice-make magic may not be the best for this, but there’s a chance that having something to direct the magical force in him towards may help him come to grips with what he is, and control the power inside him.” She crossed her arms. “I am not as stupid as you seem to think I am.”  _

_ Gray gripped handfuls of his pants. What did they mean Deliora had only come to his home because of his father? What  _ power _ did he have? He could just barely use the magic Ur was teaching him. Hell,  _ Lyon _ was more powerful than he was!  _

_ “And using magic will also pull out that part of him quicker than what would happen if he stayed away from magic. The powers were only just beginning to stir in his father. With magic, I give him ten years, at the absolute  _ most. _ Think about what you’re doing, Ur!” the man shouted.  _

_ “Keep your voice down!” she hissed. “Do you really want to explain all of this to the boys if you wake them up?”  _

_ And with that, Gray dashed back to his and Lyon’s room, not wanting to get into trouble if Ur found him eavesdropping.  _

_ He never asked her about who the man was, or about what she was talking about, and he asked Lyon to do the same.  _

_ He never did find out what they meant.  _

* * *

He snapped back to reality when the ice began to glow. Moonlight seemed to fall from the heavens, dripping onto the ice and Deliora. 

He jumped to his feet. “What the hell is that!?” he demanded. 

Natsu watched the light with a curious expression. “I don’t think the moon’s supposed to do that.” 

“No shit!” Gray grabbed the back of his shirt collar and heaved him out of the cave. “New plan. We need to find out what the fuck that is.” 

Natsu wriggled out of his grasp. “Okay, okay! Let’s go!” 

Gray froze. “But we can’t just leave it here, unguarded. If someone comes, or…” He swallowed thickly. “Deliora is freed…” 

“Okay, I’ll stay and guard it, while you and Erza find out why the moon turned all funny,” Natsu said, turning back around to face the ice. 

Gray was about to agree, before he whipped around. “ _ You _ want to guard something, instead of doing the thing that’s a lot more likely to result in a fight?” Who was this person and what had happened to Natsu? 

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah! If that thing breaks out, I wanna fight it!” He punched his fist into his palm. “I’ve never fought a demon before.” 

Gray let out a breath. “Fine.” It wasn’t like he wanted to remain in Deliora and Ur’s presence for any longer than he had to. 

Maybe that was the real reason Natsu was so willing to stay behind… 

“If the ice starts to break, after he gets back, send Happy for us.” As eager as Natsu was to fight Deliora, Gray knew he couldn’t handle it. 

Hell, he wasn’t sure the combined efforts of himself, Natsu,  _ and _ Erza would be enough to kill Deliora. They needed to do everything they could to prevent that. 

For everyone’s sake. 

* * *

There were three reasons Natsu had wanted to stay behind and watch the frozen demon. 

The first was the one he had given Gray.  _ Of course  _ he wanted to fight this thing! It was huge! It’d probably be fun! Not to mention, it had put Gray through a world of hurt, and  _ nothing _ was allowed to hurt his friends and get away with it. This Deliora demon thing deserved a couple of fireballs to the face for that. 

The second, was because he doubted it would be good for Gray to be down here alone with the thing that had killed his family, and the woman who had taught him his ice magic. Maybe this demon was the thing that had him so on edge. 

The third, well… He felt a type of…  _ connection _ to this…  _ thing.  _ And he wanted to know why. 

He crept forward, and pressed his hand against the ice. 

He didn’t understand it, the good feeling that had led him to this cave, or the familiarity he felt with the beast. 

_ Why?  _

Why did he feel a connection with something this evil and  _ wrong?  _

He didn’t  _ want _ it! 

… But he needed to understand it. 

His nails scraped against the ice as he drug his hand down it. “What am I?” he whispered. 

* * *

After Gray explained what he and Natsu had found in the cave, and the way the moonlight seemed to bleed into the ice, Erza’s expression morphed from shock, to pity. 

“Oh, Gray, I’m so sorry. This must be hard for you,” she said, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

He shrugged her hand off. “I’ll be fine. Natsu is guarding Deliora. We need to find out what’s going on with the moon, and what it’s doing to U—the ice. It-It almost looked like it was  _ melting.”  _

He tried telling himself it was impossible. Iced shell couldn’t  _ melt! _ And if it did, that meant that Ur was really and truly gone. He didn’t want to live in a world where his master was actually dead. 

Erza frowned. “Okay. I sensed a strong burst of magical energy a few moments ago in that direction.” She pointed towards the forest. “I propose we check there first.” 

Gray nodded. Erza had always been strongly tuned in to the magical swells that filled the air when wizards were active. He doubted she was wrong. “Happy, go back and wait with Natsu. He shouldn’t be alone with that thing.” 

The cat chirped out a confirmation, then raced off. 

They found the group responsible for the strangeness of the dripping moon, and when they did, a horrible pit opened up in Gray’s chest. 

Lyon. 

* * *

_ I’m gonna kill Deliora!” Gray exclaimed. “I know where he is! He has to pay for what he did to my family!”  _

_ There was no sympathy in Ur’s eyes. “If you go after that demon, you may no longer consider me your master. You’re not ready, and even if you were, revenge would get you nothing.”  _

_ He clenched his fists. “I don’t care!”  _

_ Lyon crept out from behind Ur. “Gray… please don’t try and—” _

_ “Shut up!” he shouted. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! It killed my dad! It killed my mom! It  _ deserves _ to die!”  _

_ Ur turned her back to him. “Then go. But if you do, don’t come back.”  _

_ He didn’t care. He left.  _

* * *

Erza attacked with warning. Anyone. Gray included. 

Of course, she probably didn’t know that one of the people responsible for this magical ritual had once been like a brother to Gray. She probably expected him to come charging in after her. 

And he did, albeit, with a little more hesitation than usual. 

Why would Lyon  _ do _ this? Why would he try and bring back Deliora, when he knew what the demon had done, what  _ Ur _ had done to stop him? Sure, they hadn’t parted ways on the best of terms, but could so much really have changed in the past ten years? 

Lyon recognized Gray as quickly as Gray had recognized him. His eyes widened in shock for a brief second, before anger settled on his face. “Gray,” he hissed. 

“Lyon, what are you do—” 

Lyon launched his attack before Gray could even finish, ice birds flying towards him. He threw up a shield. 

“Keep the Moon Drip going!” Lyon shouted. 

“Erza!” Gray called. Lyon was going to take every bit of his focus, there was no way he could stop his allies from finishing whatever this  _ Moon Drip _ was.

Unfortunately, Erza was quite preoccupied by a wizard with pink hair, leaving the other two to continue the spell. 

Gray tried to make a weapon, but when he tried to call forth his power, he felt a searing pain in his hand. 

He dropped to his knees with a cry of pain. 

Lyon narrowed his eyes, before throwing his head back and laughing. “They were right, weren’t they?” 

Gray tried to use his magic again, only for the pain to intensify. He screeched. 

“ _ Gray!”  _ Erza tried to run towards him, but the other three wizards jumped in her way. 

He held a shaking hand up to his face. 

Black laced up this arm, leaving white bands around his wrist. His skin  _ burned _ as the black marks spread, ever so slowly. 

Lyon’s laughter continued, the sound becoming warped as all of Gray’s focus was placed on his hand. 

Lyon leaned forward, eyes cold and mocking. “You never did find out what she meant, did you? It sure is a helluva time for it to finally kick in.” 

The pain became so intense, Gray passed out. 

* * *

_ He shouldn’t have tried to come after Deliora. Ur was  _ right!  _ His magic wasn’t strong enough.  _ He _ wasn’t strong enough.  _

_ And he never would be.  _

_ Ever since Ur had taught him how to tap into the magical energies of the world, how to mold them to his whims, he’d learned how to better sense the surges of power as other beings pulled them into use.  _

_ It was an ability every living thing had, to a degree, but magic users were definitely better at the skill than normal humans.  _

_ Gray had been nearly frozen in fear by Deliora’s surges, the first time he’d encountered the demon. But now…  _

_ Now the surges were so intense, they took his breath away, as if the demon were so powerful he sucked even the oxygen away.  _

_ Deliora laughed as he sank his claws into Gray’s chest. Not deep enough to severely damage anything, but deep enough to  _ hurt.

_ Gray screamed.  _

_ He knew Deliora was playing with him, and that was the only reason he was still alive. As soon as the demon grew bored, he was finished.  _

_ His vision blurred with tears, warping Deliora, making his visage even more terrifying.  _

_ Maybe… maybe if he died, he’d get to see his parents again.  _

_ Maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad.  _

“Gray!” 

* * *

“Gray!” 

Finally,  _ finally _ his eyes opened. Erza let out a sigh of relief. 

As soon as she saw Gray go down that quickly, without fighting back at all, she’d known something was very, _ very _ wrong. She had a feeling his screams of agony would haunt her nightmares for a long time. 

It didn’t take her long to defeat the four wizards, though the man with white hair and ice magic had been a little difficult, she could admit. She’d tied them to the trees, several feet away.

She just hoped it was in time to stop their spell, because if she was correct, their intention was to free the demon. 

But she could dwell on that after she was sure Gray was okay. 

“Gray, I need you to talk to me,” she said, lightly tapping his cheek. “What happened?” 

He groaned, and his eyes were worryingly unfocused. 

She glanced down at his hand. The black mark, that had previously only been the size of a coin, now covered his entire hand, and about half of his forearm, leaving white bands around his wrist. Was that what had caused him pain? What  _ was _ it? 

She regretted not pressing him about the mark sooner. 

“Please, Gray. Please talk to me,” she pleaded. 

“Ur…” he muttered, in some kind of trance. “Lyon…” 

Lyon? Hadn’t he called that ice wizard Lyon? And it had seemed like Gray knew him. 

She sucked in a breath. Was it possible that this wizard was the same Lyon that had train under Ur with him? 

She stood up, and marched over to the wizard. “What did you do to him?” she demanded, grabbing a handful of his jacket. 

The wizard, Lyon, smirked, but didn’t say anything. 

She requipped her sword. “I am not above hurting you, should I think it will get me what I want, and mean protecting my friends.” She pressed it against his cheek, using just enough pressure to draw a trickle of blood. 

He hissed. 

“What did you do  _ to Gray?”  _ she demanded, leaning in close. 

“I didn’t  _ do _ anything!” he snarled. He squirmed, trying to loosen his bonds. Truly a feeble effort. 

“Someone did!” she accused, voice rising with emotion. 

“He was  _ born _ like that! He’s some kind of freak of nature, always has been. It just took a while to kick in,” Lyon said, clearly finding the idea funny. 

Erza jerked backwards. “That doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Believe me or don’t, I don’t care,” he said. His struggles began to turn frantic. “Just let me go so I can kill Deliora!” 

Kill Deliora? Why would he be trying to free the demon, if all he wanted was to kill it? That didn’t make any sense. 

Besides, the demon was still trapped. Surely should would have felt a powerful magic surge if it had been freed. 

Unless… the demon was weak from being trapped for a decade, or hadn’t immediately launched an attack after being freed. 

Her eyes widened as she nearly dropped her sword. 

_ Natsu!  _

* * *

As soon as the first crack appeared in the ice, something in Natsu fell apart. 

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel. 

Happy pawed at his legs. “Natsu! Natsu! It’s breaking!” 

He didn’t reply, just stared at the melting, cracking ice. 

_ “Natsu!”  _ Happy screeched. 

_ Kill… someone,  _ a little voice whispered in his head.  _ I need… to kill… Zer— _

“I’m going to get Erza and Gray!” Happy exclaimed before snapping his wings out and zipping out of the cave. 

He clenched and unclenched his fists. Boiling hot fire uncurled in his chest, which wouldn’t be unusual, but something about this fire was  _ different.  _

As soon as Deliora clawed his way out of the ice, Natsu collapsed. 

* * *

Erza sprinted to the cave as quick as she could with Gray slung over her back. He still hadn’t truly woken up, muttering and crying out, delirious. 

She decided that as soon as they got back to the guildhall she was not letting Natsu and Gray out of her sight, or out of Magnolia, until she found out  _ exactly _ what was wrong with both of them. 

This quest had been a bad idea, and she was going to be kicking herself for it for a month. 

She met Happy after running in the general direction of the cave, thankfully. She’d need him to lead her the rest of the way. 

“Erza!” he exclaimed. “The ice started breaking! And something’s really wrong with Natsu! He’s not moving!” 

She swore.  _ Both _ Gray and Natsu were out of commission? She should have just come on this damn quest by herself!

* * *

_ With a horrible crunch, Ur’s lower leg was torn off her body. Blood and bone shards flew through the air, splattering against Gray’s face, tangling in his hair.  _

_ Ur’s screams echoed through the valley.  _

_ “This is your fault!” Lyon screamed. “You’re going to kill her!”  _

_ Gray sobbed and clutched at his chest, slick with blood. His or Ur’s, he didn’t know. Probably both.  _

_ Ur was tossed through the air like a ragdoll, landing with a  _ crack _ at Gray and Lyon’s feet. “Don’t blame your brother, Lyon,” she wheezed, blood dribbling down her lips. “Please don’t do that.”  _

_ “Why not!?” he wailed. “It’s his fault! He could have stayed home! Then we would all be safe!” Tears streamed down his face, his eyes red and puffy.  _

_ Ur forced herself up, and quickly attached a piece of ice to her bleeding stump of a leg. “Run, Lyon. Help Gray, and get out of here.”  _

_ “Not without you!” they screamed together, the only thing they were able to agree on.  _

_ Ur grabbed Gray’s shoulders and shoved him into Lyon, who, despite everything, helped keep him upright. “I said go! I want you to grow up, live good lives, and you can’t do that if you stay here.” She turned back towards Deliora, who slowly approached them with a wicked smile. “Lyon, let go of your pride, and anger. Gray, the world will likely hate you, but don’t let that stop you.” She held her arms out.  _

_ “ _ No!” _ Gray wailed.  _

_ Lyon half carried, half dragged him away, sobbing, obeying their master’s final command.  _

_ Ur turned and gave them one last sad, small smile, before dissolving into brilliant light.  _

* * *

When Gray finally came to, he wished he never had. 

He was faced with a nightmare. Natsu in a heap on the ground, Erza pinned, swords shaking, beneath the great weight of a snarling Deliora. 

_ A hole punched through his mother’s stomach.  _

_ His father thrown into a wall.  _

_ Ur dissolving into light.  _

Natsu on the ground. 

Erza pinned, a gaping maw inches from her face. 

He stood, and crossed his arms out in front of him. 

He never expected to face Deliora again. He’d had enough faith and trust in Ur to believe that she’d destroyed the demon so thoroughly, he would never walk the earth again. 

And while he had believed that, sometimes he was irrational, and he considered what he might do if he faced the demon again. 

Perhaps now it was a good thing that he had considered facing Deliora once more. 

He drew magic out from deep within him. The pain in his hand sprang back in full force, but he fought past it, gritting his teeth. He couldn’t afford to falter now. His friends were in danger, and no black mark on his hand was going to stop him. 

“Gray! No!” Erza screeched, shoving back against the demon with enough strength to force him off of her. 

Natsu began stirring as well. 

The demon stumbled backwards, tripping over a chunk of Ur’s ice. 

Deliora wasn’t going to take anyone else he cared about away from him. Gray wasn’t going to sit by and let others sacrifice themselves for him anymore. He was  _ done.  _

“Gray!” Erza gasped as she raced towards him. “Don’t do this!” 

Natsu forced himself up. “Erza? Gray?” 

Erza grabbed his shoulders. “Don’t do this,” she whispered. 

Gray kept his gaze locked on Deliora. He knew if he looked at her, his resolve would crack, and the demon would be allowed to roam free once again. 

Magic flowed through his body, building and building. Just a few more seconds… 

Deliora forced himself back up, his movements sluggish and stilted. 

Natsu let out a cry of alarm after he realized what was going on, dashing to join Erza. “You can’t do this, man! It’s not worth it!” 

“I have to!” he exclaimed. “I can’t let him win again!” 

“No!” Natsu grabbed his hands. 

Gray bit back a screech as the pain in his left intensified, the one with the black mark. 

“He’s dyin,’ Gray,” Natsu insisted. “I think that ice sucked the life out of him. You don’t gotta do this. He’s  _ dying.”  _ Tears swam in his eyes. “Please, trust me. I  _ promise _ you.” 

“Gray, even if he’s not, we’ll fight him together. You  _ can’t _ die!” Erza shouted, latching onto him. 

With a cry of rage? Grief? Pain? He didn’t know. Gray dropped his arms, and let the magic energy building in him dissipate. He fell to his knees, finally letting the tears that seemed to have been building in his eyes for hours fall. 

Erza and Natsu fell next to him, muttering reassurances and comforts. 

Natsu was right. Within seconds, Deliora collapsed with a pained roar, and did not move again. 

“Never do that again,” Erza growled, hugging him and pressing her face to his chest. “Don’t you  _ fucking dare.”  _

Natsu rested his chin on Gray’s shoulder. A strange sound rumbled from him, some mix between a growl and purr. He held his upper arm in a death grip. 

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but he found he could have stayed that way a while longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you chapters would start getting longer. Also, I know I kind of glossed over some of the fight scenes, but Lyon and the rest of his crew aren't going to be major players (or really even minor ones), so I didn't want to focus on them a lot (I plan on having Gray and Lyon talk in the next chapter tho). Oh, and I will be including the Phantom Lord arc (gotta get Gajeel and Juvia introduced somehow), and the Tower of Heaven arc, but after that, we're really going off the rails as far as canon timelines and arcs


	5. The Fate of the Dragon Slayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu, Erza, and Gray return from their quest, and Levy makes a discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has seven fucking POVs because I have no idea how to chill, but I really like it

Cana spent her days drinking them away, and due to that, didn’t get invited on many job requests. She either did them alone, or on rare occasion, forced her way onto Natsu’s team when the reward was big enough. 

So when this new blonde wizard that Natsu had drug in, like a cat leaving a mouse on its owner’s doorstep, approached her and suggested they worked together, she nearly laughed in her face. 

Until she actually got a good look at the girl for the first time. 

And  _ damn, _ she was cute. “Uh… sure, what’s the job request?” 

Cana didn’t ask why the girl was asking  _ her _ to go on a job request, but if she had, she would have learned that Mirajane had suggested her when Lucy asked her about job request partners, and she would have guessed that Mirajane was playing matchmaker again. 

The girl smiled and held up the flier. 

Something to do with a book? That couldn’t be too bad. 

* * *

“Why did you do it, Lyon? Why would you try and bring back Deliora?” Gray asked, voice shaky. 

Lyon, who was still tied to a tree, glared at him. “Why should I answer you? You’re the one who killed Ur!” 

Natsu snarled and tried to march forward, but Erza grabbed his shoulder and held him back. “Let him deal with this,” she muttered. 

As much as he didn’t understand, as Gray looked into Lyon’s sad eyes, he found that as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t be angry with him. “You think I don’t know that? That I don’t blame myself everyday? And wish I could change what I did?” He hung his head. “And whether I killed her or not, you were the one who undid what she died for.” 

“I had to surpass her,” he said. 

Gray’s head snapped back up.  _ Surpass _ her? 

“I was supposed to get better than she ever was.” His glare hardened. “How was I supposed to do that if she was dead?” He bared his teeth.  _ “Kill the thing that killed her.”  _

Gray stumbled back. So this was some twisted mix of a revenge and power fantasy? Sure, Lyon had always wanted to be the best, and he had known Ur longer than Gray had, but… what could have possibly happened over the years that had driven him to  _ this? _

“Okay,” he muttered. He turned away. At this point, he doubted he would ever fix the relationship he’d had with Lyon. Maybe he should have tried to contact him a long time ago. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened. 

“Don’t know you want to know what’s wrong with your hand?” Lyon asked, voice taunting. 

“You know?” Erza asked, stepping forward. 

Gray turned back around, and found he really wanted to punch Lyon’s smirking face. “Yeah,” he said. “I know some.” 

“Something tells me you’re not going to share the information out of the goodness of your heart,” Erza said. 

Lyon shrugged. Or, did his best to with the ropes restricting his movement. “Let me go and I’ll tell you.” 

“Not a chance!” Natsu shouted, trying to lunge forward, only to be stopped by Erza again. “Let me go!” He tried worming out of her grasp. “I’m gonna beat it out of him!” 

Gray shook his head. “It’s not important. He needs to go to the magic council. We’ll figure it out on our own.” 

“Are you sure, Gray?” Erza asked.

He nodded. “Maybe Levy, or even Porlyusica will know something.” 

“Well…” She crossed her arms. “Okay. Let’s go handle the villagers now.” 

* * *

As soon as Natsu got back to the guildhall, she ran and gave him a hug. She’d forgotten how much she missed him when he went on quests without her. “You were gone so long!” 

He laughed, ruffling her hair. “It was only a few days.” Then he frowned. “And look!” He dug a golden key out of his pocket. “All we got out of it was this stupid key! Since Erza wouldn’t accept the reward because we didn’t actually do what the villagers asked us to. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” 

Wendy cocked her head. “That’s a zodiac key, isn’t it? Why don’t you give it to that new wizard you brought. She’s a celestial spirit wizard, isn’t she?” 

Natsu’s eyebrows raised. “She is?” 

Wendy sighed, shook her head, and let out a little laugh. Her brother’s memory was absolutely horrific. “Yes, she is. So give it to her. I’m sure she’d really appreciate it.” 

He began glancing around the guildhall. “Okay, where’s she at?” 

“You’ll have to wait until she gets back,” she said. “Not too long after you guys left, she left on a job with Miss Cana.” 

Gray and Erza, who had been engaged in a conversation next to them, sputtered. 

_ “Cana?”  _ Gray demanded. 

Even Erza’s eyes were wide. “Cana went on a job request with another person? The  _ new _ member?” 

Wendy nodded. She knew it was unusual for Miss Cana to go on jobs with another person, but she didn’t know why the others found it this shocking. 

Gray tried to stifle his laughter. 

She frowned. Or this amusing. 

“It’s been a while since Cana had a crush,” Erza said. “I don’t think she’s been interested in anyone since her and Loke broke up.” 

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Natsu demanded. “They just went on a job together. That doesn’t mean anything!” 

“Yeah,” Wendy agreed. “Maybe she was just being nice.” 

“Since when has Cana been  _ nice?”  _ Gray asked. 

Erza smirked and patted Natsu’s shoulder. “Cana only goes on job requests with people she  _ likes. _ That was why she went on so many with Loke when they were together.” 

Wendy still didn’t understand, and evidently, neither did Natsu. “But she goes on requests with us sometimes!” he protested. 

“Yeah, but never  _ alone _ with one of us,” Erza said. 

Both Wendy and Natsu glanced between Erza and Gray, eyes narrowed, trying to figure out if they really were being truthful, or just poking fun at them. 

Gray rolled his eyes. “Damn, you dragon slayers really are hopeless. She straight up told me one time she only went on job requests with someone if she thought they were hot, when I asked her to help me out once.” 

Erza laughed. “I remember that. You pouted for days because she said you looked  _ plain.” _

“But that’s weird,” Wendy said. 

Natsu nodded, so rigorously his hair was flying. 

Gray snorted and walked off. Erza followed him, after smiling at them, clearly finding their confusion amusing. 

Wendy grabbed the key that Natsu still held. “I’ll make sure to give this to Miss Lucy, since you’ll probably forget by the time she gets back.” 

“Why would you only go on job requests with someone you thought was hot? _ ” _ Natsu asked, not even paying attention to the key. “I would never go on jobs if I did that! Besides, wouldn’t it be more fun with your friends anyways?” 

“I don’t know,” Wendy said, shrugging. But she suspected that was just because she was so young. Or at least, that was what everyone told her when she asked about that kind of thing. “What happened to Gray’s hand?” she asked, glancing over at the table he and Erza had sat at. His entire hand had been bandaged up to his elbow. “Do I need to heal it?” 

Natsu shook his head. “No, he’ll be fine.” 

She frowned, but didn’t push. If they needed her help, they’d tell her. 

She still felt like she was being left out of the loop, though. 

* * *

Another black-gray scale had appeared on his neck today. 

He shouldn’t be surprised. He didn’t know why this was happening, but whatever  _ it _ was, it seemed to be picking up the pace. 

Just last night, he’d spit out another tooth, for it to be replaced by a fang in his sleep. That was the  _ tenth _ one. 

“Gajeel?” 

He jerked his head up. “Whatcha need, Ju?” 

Juvia sat next to him, and patted his hand. “Are you okay?” She glanced at his neck, and he knew she had realized there were five scales instead of four now. 

“Fine,” he grunted, before throwing back another shot. 

Juvia hummed. “It’s not even noon, and you’re drinking.” 

“So what? Lots ‘a people drink before noon,” he said. 

She nodded. “And most of them have issues.” She shifted so they sat close enough she could press against him. “You can tell me, you know?” 

He  _ did _ know. Juvia was the only friend he had, and he probably owed an explanation to her for why he’d been so irritable and pissed the past couple days. He just didn’t want to think about it. 

“Is it the scales?” she asked. 

“No,” he said. And it wasn’t. He  _ was _ curious about them, but he’d always looked kind of freaky, and some new pointy teeth and scales weren’t going to be the things that made people give him nervous looks and skirt around him on the street. 

“Then what is it?” she asked. 

“You know that guild we were hired to attack, to get that Heartfilia girl?” he asked. 

She nodded. “Fairy Tail, right? I thought you’d be happy about that. They’re a powerful guild, should be a challenge.” 

His shoulders slumped. She was right. Normally, he’d be excited for something like this, but… “Ya know those brothers and sister I told you about?” 

Juvia’s eyebrows pinched together. “Yes, the ones you were separated from?” 

He nodded. “Yeah… two of ‘em joined Fairy Tail.” 

Her gaze saddened. “Oh, Gajeel…” Tentatively, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, as if waiting for him to shove her off. 

He didn’t. Her touch was nice. She rarely touched him, because deep down, like everyone else, she was a little wary of him, so he would never snap at her for doing so. 

“How come you never reached out to them? I thought you missed them,” she said. 

“Fuck, ‘course I miss them,” he said, clenching his fists. “But when we all got separated, and I ended up with Phantom Lord… Shit, by the time I heard they were with Fairy Tail, I’d already ended up like this. Didn’t wanna upset them, or get them involved in somethin’ like that.” He shook his head. “Imagine seein’ your older brother after years and he was like  _ this.” _

He’d never told Juvia the exact details of his childhood. About Metalicana and the rest of the dragons, about how he didn’t know a thing about his actual parents, and how his family literally  _ disappeared, _ not got separated. He’d never even told her Natsu, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue’s names. 

(He still hadn’t found out what happened to Sting and Rogue, and it haunted him). 

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she said. “I’m sure they’d just be thrilled to know that you were alive.” 

His scowl deepened. Sure, Natsu was the second oldest, and would be nineteen now, He might understand, to some degree, but Wendy was only twelve. God, he couldn’t do that to her. 

They were better off thinking he was dead. 

Except, he didn’t really have a choice anymore. You couldn’t exactly refuse orders from the master of Phantom Lord. 

He  _ could _ try to avoid Natsu and Wendy during the attack, but he doubted that would work, for a number of reasons. 

Natsu was one of the guild’s best fighters, and from what Gajeel had seen, was often on the front lines. And once other members realized he was a dragon slayer, of course they’d send their two dragon slayers after him. 

And he had no doubt that as soon as Natsu and Wendy smelt him in their city, they’d hunt him down. 

There was no way to avoid a confrontation with them. 

“It’ll be okay, Gajeel,” Juvia said. “I’m sure it will all work out.” 

He didn’t believe her for a second, but he had enough decency not to argue with her. 

* * *

“Neither one of you are going on anymore job requests until we figure out exactly what’s going on with  _ both _ of you.” 

Gray and Natsu exploded into a flurry of protests and complaints. 

Erza stood over them, hands on her hips, and made sure to give them her best glare. 

It quickly shut them up as they sank further into their chairs. 

“Natsu, you’ve been brushing off whatever’s wrong with you for months, and I’m not letting you do that anymore,” she said. “It should be a priority.  _ And _ Happy told me how you collapsed during the job request. Whatever this is, it’s getting worse.” 

Natsu frowned and crossed his arms, but had the sense not to argue. 

“And Gray, even if you  _ wanted _ to use magic, it would incapacitate you now.” She took a deep breath. “Not to mention, you nearly killed yourself.” 

Gray shot out of his chair. “Erza! It wasn’t because I… You know, actually wanted to die…” He fell back into his seat, voice growing quieter with each word. 

She let her gaze soften. “You can say that all you like, Gray, but the fact that you even thought that was an option tells me you’re not as okay as you’re insisting.” 

Natsu made a concerned noise, leaning over to nose at Gray’s cheek. 

“I’m  _ fine,” _ he insisted, nudging Natsu away. 

She sniffed. “I’ll believe it after you,  _ both of you, _ get the help you clearly need. That means talking to Levy, Porlyusica, the Master,  _ anyone _ who might have some information that could help you,  _ and _ actually looking for some answers yourself, not just relying on Levy to do it.” 

Poor Levy had other things to be doing anyways, and she was too kind to turn down a request for help, especially if it was from an ailing friend. 

“Erza!” Natsu whined. “I hate reading!” 

“Well that’s too bad!” she said. “I’ll help you when I am not busy with requests and other things, but you are going to do this. And I’ll be sure to tell the Master and Mira to make sure you don’t sneak off for any requests.” 

Natsu threw his head back and groaned. Gray just sat with his arms crossed. 

Erza sighed. She really shouldn’t have let this go on as long as it had. For Natsu especially. “I’m serious.” 

“I know,” Gray muttered. “And I know you’re trying to help, but—”

“No buts,” she said. “I  _ am _ helping you. So you’re going to shut up and let me. Come on. We’re going to go see Levy.” 

* * *

Just as she had hoped, Wendy’s theory had paved the way for several breakthroughs. 

Sure, it’d taken several days, and a few trips to more secure and magically inclined libraries to get some answers, but if it meant helping Natsu, she didn’t mind. 

But now… she almost wished she’d never found answers. 

She’d  _ finally _ found some information on dragon slayer magic. While she knew it had to be gifted to humans by dragons, she discovered that the first case of it appearing was several hundred years ago, and only very specific humans were granted the magic by the great beasts. They were very particular about who was worthy to have such power. 

It made her smile. Natsu and Wendy must be exceptional if dragons had deemed them worthy, even as small children. 

Then she’d found an ancient diary that had belonged to one of the first dragon slayers. At first, she’d been thrilled. If gaining physical attributions of dragons was normal for the slayers, surely this would tell her. 

She was about three-fourths of the way through the diary when she’d dropped it, hands shooting up to cover her mouth. 

It was normal, alright. 

The descriptions in the diary nearly caused Levy to vomit. 

It started with small things. Like teeth falling out, the slayer began to make more dragon-like noises, the element they used for breath attacks took up permanent residence in the slayer’s lungs… all familiar things. 

Then… Then scales began to replace the slayer’s skin, swaths of flesh peeling away to reveal them. The diary chronicled the way the slayer’s fingers broke and cracked as claws forced their way out. Their back split open, as bones and muscle grew into wings. 

The last thing the diary explained, was the terrifying pain that accompanied these changes, and how the slayer knew the end was near. 

Not death. No, death would be a mercy, at least, in the slayer’s mind. 

Dragon slayer magic turned humans into dragons. It seemed a human body simply wasn’t able to handle the power, and once the slayer used it enough that it took up permanent residence in their body, it took over, shifting their body into one of the creatures. 

_ Natsu…  _

Her only comfort was that it might not be too late for Wendy. If she stopped using her slayer magic,  _ never _ used it again, because it hadn’t started yet (at least, Levy hoped it hadn’t started yet), there was a chance the magic would eventually flow out of her, and she would never have to go through this. 

But Natsu… It was too late for Natsu. The process had already begun, and once it began, well, that was it. It didn’t stop, even if the slayer stopped using their magic. 

She forced herself to read through the diary again, trying to discern some kind of timeline, to figure out exactly how much time Natsu had left before… 

From what she could tell, the complete transformation took about two to three years, but as the process continued, the diary became harder to understand, as the slayer’s grips on reality became flawed, and human reason and instinct left them, so she couldn’t say for certain. 

How long ago had this stared for Natsu? It’d been over a year, hadn’t it? 

She swallowed thickly. So, in the best case scenario, if her calculations were correct, he only had two years left. But most likely… probably less. 

How was she supposed to tell him this? 

She clutched the diary to her chest. How was she going to tell  _ Wendy _ this? Gray? Erza? 

Natsu, being how he was, might just accept it. Shrug, grin, and say it could be worse. At least he wasn’t dying. 

But those three… She knew how much Natsu meant to them. To them, it  _ would _ be like he was dying. 

His humanity would die, leaving behind something else. And while Levy knew dragons were intelligent beings, could even talk, and there would be  _ some _ semblance of Natsu still there, it wouldn’t be the same.  _ He _ wouldn’t be the same. 

She could try to find a cure… somewhere. But what were the chances of that? There hadn’t been one hundreds of years ago, when dragons and dragon slayers roamed the world in abundance. Why would there be one now? 

“Levy!” 

She dropped the diary with a shriek. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Erza said as she entered the library, Natsu and Gray trailing behind her. 

* * *

Natsu sensed Levy’s distress the moment he stepped into the library. He could feel her anxiety in the air, smell the salt of her tears. “Levy?” he asked, moving to comfort her. 

He didn’t like seeing his friends upset. 

She didn’t move, just stared at him with wide, teary eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Something’s wrong.” He wanted to touch her, press his face against her, and grab her and not let go, but he could only do that with Wendy, Gray, and Erza, who were used to him. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. 

“I…” she stared, before trailing off, gaze dropping to stare at the ratty book on the floor. 

“Levy?” Erza nudged Natsu aside. “What happened? Do you want me to go get someone? Jet or Droy? The Master?” 

She shook her head. “N-No, I actually… You’re the ones I need to talk to.” 

Erza gently led her to a chair and sat her down. “Okay, if you’re sure.” 

“Gray, can you hand me that book I dropped?” she asked, holding her hand out. 

He obliged, and as soon as the little book was in her hands, Levy clutched onto it for dear life, as if it were the only thing that was real in the world anymore. She was silent, just staring at Natsu. 

He glanced at Gray and Erza, but they seemed to be waiting for her to speak, so Natsu decided that was probably what he should do as well. 

Finally, the script mage took a shuddering breath. “Wendy’s theory was right.” 

Natsu perked up. That was good, wasn’t it? That meant they knew what was happening to him! Maybe he wouldn’t be stuck reading library books with Gray for who knew how long after all! 

“Wendy’s theory?” Erza asked. 

Natsu realized he’d never actually told Erza and Gray about his little sister’s idea. Whoops. 

“Yeah,” Levy said. “Wendy thought that because dragon slayer magic is meant to give the mage that uses it dragon abilities, that it might give them physical traits of a dragon as well.” 

“Oh.” Erza blinked. “That makes sense.” 

Gray elbowed him. “So what, you’re turning into a giant lizard?” 

Natsu shoved him back. “Shut up, man.” 

Levy sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Levy?” Erza asked. 

“Like I said, I did some research, and found out Wendy was right. That’s what’s happening to you, Natsu,” she said, somehow managing to clutch the little book even tighter. “But… It’s going to turn you into a dragon. Completely.” 

Natsu felt his face scrunch up in confusion. Turn him into a dragon? Could something like that even happen? 

“Levy,” Erza said, voice taut. “There’s… you must be joking.” 

Wordlessly, Levy opened the little book and flipped through the pages. She turned it around, showing them a messy drawing of a person blended with a dragon. Wings sprouted from their back, scales covered their cheeks and arms. 

Smoke leaked from their mouth…. 

The person in the drawing screamed, mouth and eyes wide, pain etched into the features. “Natsu, I’m so sorry,” Levy whispered. 

Finally it clicked. 

He was turning into a dragon. His magic was going to completely tear his body apart and remake it. 

“Wendy!” he exclaimed. “What about Wendy!?” He grabbed Levy’s shoulders. 

“I-I think she’ll be fine, so long as she doesn’t use her magic anymore,” she said. “I’m not sure though.” 

“A-And Natsu?” Erza asked. 

Levy shook her head. “I don’t think there’s a cure. Of course I’ll look! But… I’m not hopeful.” She finally let go of the book, letting it drop to the floor. 

“There’s  _ nothing _ to do?” Gray demanded. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry.” 

Natsu ran. 

He thought he heard Erza and Gray call after him, but he wasn’t sure. Even if they did, he wouldn’t have turned back. 

He ended up in the woods near his and Wendy’s house, and finally stopped to sit and lean against a tree. 

“A dragon, huh?” he muttered. Had Igneel known that would happen when he taught him dragon slayer magic? 

Would Natsu have turned down learning it if  _ he’d _ known? How bad could being a dragon be? 

Sure, he was  _ human, _ and if it were up to him, he’d keep it that way, but if he didn’t have a choice… 

Well, he was sure there were worse fates, right? It wasn’t like he was dying. 

He buried his face in Igneel’s scarf. He wished his father’s scent still lingered on it, but it had long since faded away. 

He wished he could talk to him. He felt like that would help him understand… whatever was happening to him. 

He began to realize that running had… maybe been a bad idea. Levy probably knew more about this, could have told him more. Like how long it would take, if there was anything he could do to slow it down. Not to mention that Erza and Gray were probably about to lose their minds. 

He decided that hiding in the woods wasn’t going to fix everything, and he really should go back. 

As soon as he stood back up, his legs gave away, leaving him to collapse and fall face first into the dirt. 

Deep, intense pain unfurled in his chest and limbs, and a powerful headache punched against his skull. 

“What the hell…” he muttered. He tried to force himself up, but his limbs remained too weak to support him. 

Everything began to darken, leaving Natsu limp and alone. 

“Dad?” he managed to whisper once, needing some, _any_ kind of comfort, before passing out.


	6. The Reality of Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray and Erza race to find Natsu, and everyone deals with the aftermath of learning what's happening to their friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, not gonna lie, 90% of this is angst about Natsu turning into a dragon *shrugs*

“Dammit, where’d the hell he go?” Gray demanded as he combed the streets of Magnolia. 

He focused on being irritated. He  _ needed  _ to be irritated right now. He could be upset after they were sure Natsu wasn’t about to do something stupid.

Erza turned on her heel. “I’m going back to the guildhall to get Wendy. She’ll be able to track his scent.” 

Gray nearly protested. Was that a good idea? Wouldn’t they have to explain to Wendy what was going on? How was she going to take that? 

But Erza was right. Without someone like Wendy, there was a good chance they wouldn’t find Natsu until he decided he wanted to be found. 

He sat on a bench, deciding to wait for Erza to return. There was nothing he’d be able to do alone anyways. 

Although… without something to distract him, it let him think. He didn’t want to think. 

His best friend was turning into a dragon… 

Sure, Natsu had always been a weirdo, ever since they were little kids, doing things that any normal human being wouldn't even  _ think _ of. The way he smelled things, and was very particular about what objects smelled like who. How touchy he was, which wouldn’t necessarily be weird, if not for the  _ way _ he was touchy, such as how he rubbed his face against people, almost like a cat. His weird noises, like growls and snarls and purrs. How territorial he was of his house, and even Wendy, Erza, and Gray himself. 

So yeah, he’d always been a little like a dragon, but at his core, he was  _ human.  _

Gray didn’t know how to process that that wasn’t the case anymore. 

* * *

_ “Gray, Erza,” Master Makarov said, as he nudged the little boy closer to him. “This is Natsu. He’s going to be joining the guild.”  _

_ Erza, ever the professional, stuck her hand out to shake. “Hello, Natsu. I’m Erza Scarlet.”  _

_ Natsu didn’t take it. He leaned forward and sniffed at her hand, before quickly pulling back and mumbling a quick apology.  _

_ “What are you sorry for?” Gray demanded. “And why are you so weird?”  _

_ “Gray!” Makarov scolded. “Just because someone is a little different than you, that doesn’t make them weird.”  _

_ Natsu frowned and shrank into himself. “‘M sorry. Didn’t mean to smell you like that. People don’t like that, do they?”  _

_ “No?” Of course people didn’t smell each other! What was this boy  _ talking _ about?  _

_ Erza didn’t seem to mind, though. She shoved her hand into the boy’s face. “Smell me all you like!” she exclaimed. “If that’s what you’re used to.”  _

_ A relieved smile appeared on Natsu’s face as he grabbed Erza’s hand and inhaled deeply. “You smell nice,” he said. “Like metal, and sugar.”  _

_ Makarov chuckled. “I’m going to leave you with these two, okay, Natsu? I need to take your little sister to our local healer to make sure she’s healthy. She’s a little young to have been wandering out in the forest for so long.”  _

_ Natsu’s expression hardened. “Promise you’ll bring her back to me?” _

_ Makarov nodded gravely. “I promise, young man. You’ll have her back within a few hours.”  _

_ It took a moment, but finally Natsu agreed, and Makarov walked off to talk to a very small, blue-haired girl huddled in the corner.  _

_ “So why  _ are _ you all weird?” Gray asked, leaning forward.  _

_ Natsu pouted. “Not weird! You’re just… you’re just different!”  _

_ “Well, whatever,” Gray said, holding his arm out. “Guess you can sniff me if you want.”  _

* * *

Though he rarely admitted to such, Natsu was his best friend. Well, right alongside Erza, but he was definitely much closer to the dragon slayer than he let others believe. 

Natsu was important to him. Ever since they were little kids, and they’d all been torn away from their families much too soon. They were all each other had. The guild was nice, and had always treated them well, raised them, but something about Natsu and Erza… Something was different with them, a type of closeness that Gray simply didn’t have with the rest of the guild. Not even Wendy, Mira, Cana, and Levy, who he liked to think he was good friends with. 

What was going to happen to their little trio if Natsu really… if he really became something else. Would he still  _ be _ Natsu, somewhere in there? Or did that change too? 

He found himself picking at the bandages that hid what had happened to his hand. Thankfully, whatever it was seemed to have stopped spreading, for the time being, at least. He hadn’t dared to use his magic, though. He still wasn’t sure if his magic or Deliora had been what accelerated the change, and he didn’t want to find out.

He also couldn’t decide if he wanted his hand to distract him from Natsu, or vice versa. Neither one was really a fun situation. 

At this point he was just waiting for something to go horribly wrong with Erza. 

_ “Gray!”  _ Happy flew down the street towards him. The cat’s fur was puffed up, and his voice laced with panic. 

“What’s wrong?” Gray demanded, a sinking feeling in his chest.  _ Please don’t be Natsu, please don’t be Natsu.  _

Happy landed in his lap and placed his paws on Gray’s chest. “I found Natsu in the woods! He’s passed out and not moving and I can’t get him to wake up!” 

_ Oh, god.  _ “Take me to him.” 

* * *

Happy pawed pitifully at Natsu’s cheek. His skin was pale and clammy. Smoke flowed from his nose and open mouth, which confirmed he was still breathing, thankfully. 

Gray knelt down next to him, and roll him onto his back. He didn’t look wounded, which meant that he probably hadn’t been attacked by anything. 

Which also meant that this probably had… something to do with… 

“Dammit, Natsu.” He tried shaking him, slapping his cheek, shouting. He didn’t even stir. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Happy asked, nosing Natu’s limp hand. “Why won’t he wake up?” The cat’s voice shook. 

“I don’t know,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. He couldn’t panic. And at least he’d found him. With little else to do, Gray picked Natsu up and slung him over his shoulder. He was heavy, and Gray knew it would be hard to carry him all the way back to the guildhall by himself. He hoped he ran into Erza and Wendy on the way. 

Not to mention, Natsu was  _ burning up. _ He’d always ran a little warm, but now his skin was so hot it was uncomfortable to touch. “I’m gonna kill you for this, man,” he growled. “You’re a fucking idiot.” 

* * *

The streets of Magnolia had a very distinct smell. Or well, perhaps it wasn’t Magnolia itself. It was the _magic_ in Magnolia. 

The sticky, sweet smell of all the magic, and the lingering traces of non-human beings. 

Not just anyone could use magic. You had to be born with the ability. But even if you were born with it, it didn’t mean you could just  _ use magic. _ You had to learn it, process it, mould and adapt your body to handle the power. 

It was a deep power that existed within Earthland. No one was completely sure where it came from, but no one actually  _ had _ magic. The people who used it learned how to pull it out of the world around them, shape the energy, and then direct it towards whatever they were using the spell for. 

The same was for humans and non-humans, though non-humans could often take in more magic at a time than a human could, and had other born abilities that magic could amplify. 

Anyways, because Magnolia was the home of Fairy Tail, the town smelled of much more magic than most other towns, both magic being pulled in, and being expelled by the guild’s members. 

Which was why Loke, with his sense of smell that could rival Wendy and Natsu’s, knew something was off the moment he smelt a deep, ancient magic he hadn’t in hundreds of years. 

The scents were blended together, some odd cocktail of fire and dragon and demon. 

Somehow, he found he wasn’t surprised when he discovered Gray and Natsu at the end of scent trail. 

“Loke!” Gray exclaimed. “Thank god. Help me get Natsu back to the guildhall. I sent Happy to get Porlyusica. Something’s really wrong with him.” 

_ Yeah, no shit, _ Loke almost snapped, as the powerful magic flowing from the unconscious dragon slayer nearly made his eyes water. But he let Gray shift Natsu over and Loke wrapped his arm around his shoulders, leaving the two of them to half carry, half drag him through the streets. 

“The hell happened to him?” Loke demanded. 

“Not sure,” Gray said. “Think it might have something to do with him turning into a dragon.” 

Loke nearly dropped Natsu. “I’m sorry, what?” 

“Yeah,” Gray grunted. “Turns out that’s what dragon slayer magic does to you.” 

That didn’t sound right, but Loke didn’t know enough about dragon slayers to dispute it. Surely he would have noticed dragon slayers turning into literal dragons when the magic first made its appearance, right? 

Then again… he did spend a lot less time out of the celestial spirit realm than he did now. It was completely possible it had been going on and he just hadn’t noticed. 

Aries  _ did _ like to tell him how unobservant he was. 

“You were around back then,” Gray said. “You know anything about this?” 

Loke shook his head. “Sorry man. I didn’t spend much time on Earth back then, you know?” 

Gray sighed. It didn’t seem that he had been expecting the answer he wanted, anyways. 

* * *

Wendy had been crying ever since Erza had explained what was happening to Natsu. She didn’t  _ want _ to be crying, and knew she was probably getting annoying, but she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. 

Levy and Mirajane did their best to comfort her, rubbing her shoulders, and assuring her that everyone was going to do their best to help Natsu. 

But never promising it was going to be okay. 

Her and Erza had found Gray and Loke dragging Natsu through the city, and the four of them had transferred him back to the guildhall, where he now laid in the infirmary, with Porlyusica examining him. 

She wished they’d never learned dragon slayer magic… 

* * *

Mirajane couldn’t explain it. 

Her family’s take-over magic was a rare breed. Most wrote her and her brother off as just having transformation magic. 

And sure, technically, it  _ was _ a form of transformation magic, but it was more than just the simple shifting of forms that most other wizards learned. 

When she took on a demon’s features, their powers, they lingered within her. She didn’t  _ shift. _ She  _ became.  _

As such, she’d gotten quite good at sensing demons and demonic energy. 

And she  _ could not explain _ why she sensed it in the infirmary. From  _ two _ different sources, no less. 

She knew it wasn’t Wendy or Levy. They were much too close. Not to mention she was touching both of them. If they had something demonic in them, chances were her body would be trying to absorb it and mould it into a new take-over form. 

She knew it wasn’t Porlyusica, as she had a very distinct aura, so different from everyone else’s. Mirajane could sense her as well. 

She knew it wasn’t Master Makarov, as she’d spent so much time with him, she would have known if his aura began to fester like this. 

She knew it wasn’t Erza, either. She would have felt that long ago, even if it hadn’t awoken yet. 

Which left Natsu and Gray. 

She didn’t say anything, didn’t want to make this already very upsetting and delicate situation any worse. 

But why did the fiery hate of a demon flow from Natsu’s limp body? And why did the cool killing drive of one radiate from Gray? 

It set her on edge, but thankfully everyone was on edge, so no one noticed, no one asked. 

* * *

“There’s something inside him,” Porlyusica finally said. “Something ancient. I can’t tell what it is, but based on what you’ve told me, I would guess that it’s this draconic transformation.” 

Erza didn’t know what she had wanted Porlyusica to tell them. She didn’t want this to have something to do with Natsu’s transformation, but… at least now they knew what it was, and it wasn’t something else to add to the pile. 

The Master sat in the corner, expression graver than Erza had seen in a long time. “And there is nothing that can be done for him?” 

Porlyusica sighed and began putting her supplies and medical instruments back into her bag. “Not that I know of, unfortunately. Though I believe if he stops using his magic, it will, at the very least, slow the change. It’s too late for that to prevent it, however.” She moved and kneeled down in front of Wendy. “And you, young lady, must stop using your magic at once, understand me? Unless you want to be in the same situation.” 

Wendy scrubbed the tears off her face and nodded. 

“He’ll be awake in a few hours,” Porlyusica said as she left. “I suspect the stress of the day, and knowing what was finally going on allowed him to feel the changes taking place, and it was too much for him to handle, causing him to pass out.” 

She slammed the door behind her, a clear indication that she had been bothered too much recently. 

After a few minutes of suffocating silence, Erza slammed her fist onto a table, cracking it. “Dammit!” 

Levy and Wendy jumped. Mira shot to her feet and moved to comfort her. “We’ll figure it out, Erza. We’re going to help him.”

“How?” Gray muttered, voice dark. “There’s not a damn thing to do!” 

Erza felt like hitting more than just a table. She felt so  _ useless.  _ And if Gray’s glower was anything to go by, he felt the same way. 

If it weren’t for his hand, she might suggest they spar later. 

“I will go to the capital and see what information I can find,” the Master said. “And speak to the council. Perhaps they can direct us to some information, or people we could ask, at the very least.” Then he left as well. 

Wendy bit her lip. “He’s not going to like not being able to use his magic.” 

“What about you?” Levy asked. “Are you going to be okay?” 

She knew Levy had already made sure Wendy’s transformation hadn’t started, and there were no signs of it, thankfully. But there was no guarantee it wouldn’t start if the little dragon slayer continued to use her magic. 

Wendy shrugged. “I’ll be okay. I don’t use my magic much anyways. And I can always learn how to use a different kind. Maybe I’ll ask Miss Cana to teach me card magic, I’ve always thought it was neat…” She hiccuped, trying to force back the sobs that were coming back in full force. 

Erza tried not to look at Natsu. Tried not to look at the sick pallor of his skin, the way his eyebrows pinched together with what had to be pain, how even his  _ hair _ hung limp. 

They should have taken this seriously as soon as the first tooth had fallen out. Should have been looking for what was going on since the beginning, not just ignoring it until it was bad. 

Maybe they could have stopped it. Or at the very least, they’d have more time to search for a cure. 

“I really do hate to be the one to suggest this,” Mirajane began softly as she tightened her hold around Erza’s waist. “But in a worse case scenario, if we don’t find a way to stop this, we need to come up with ways to help him be more comfortable, and figure out what to do with him after he… you know… After the transformation is done.” 

“What do you  _ mean, _ what to do with him?” Gray demanded, shooting to his feet. “He ain’t going anywhere!”

“Yeah, Mira,” Erza said, pulling away. “What do you mean?” They weren’t going to  _ do _ anything with Natsu! Even if it was as a dragon, he was still a member of their guild, and he belonged with them! 

Mirajane sighed, and her shoulders drooped ever so slightly. “Well… Dragons don’t really… live like we do. And even if he…” She began twisting her hair around her finger. “It’s not like he’d fit in the guildhall, right?” 

Erza hadn’t even thought about that. Either one of her points. 

It seemed neither had Gray, if the way he fell back into his chair was anything to go by. He propped his elbows on his knees and buried his hands in his hair. 

Wendy began bawling again. Erza thought she might have said something about how dragons liked caves, but the noises were so unintelligible she couldn’t be sure. 

Levy pulled her close, quietly shushing her, and promising they wouldn’t make Natsu go live in a cave. The little girl buried her face in the script mage’s chest. 

“Mira, Levy, can you give us a minute?” Erza asked. They needed to try and calm Wendy down before Natsu woke up, for both their sakes. 

“We’ll get it figured out, okay?” Levy said, giving her one more squeeze. 

Mirajane cupped Erza’s cheek. “Will you be okay?” 

“Yeah.” She offered the best smile she could. “I’ll be okay. We just need a minute.” 

She brushed her cheek with her thumb. “If you’re sure. Let me know if you need anything.” Then she left, Levy trailing behind her. 

As soon as they were gone, Erza picked Wendy up and placed her on the bed next to Natsu. “Okay, Wendy,” she said. “We need you to calm down.”

“I-I-I’m sorry, Miss Erza.” She wiped her eyes, then hugged her knees to her chest. 

Erza sighed, and had to force back her own tears before Wendy noticed them. “You’re not in trouble, and I’m not saying you’re not allowed to cry, but you’ll feel better if you try and calm down a little bit.” 

_ Not to mention how Natsu will react if he wakes up and sees his little sister sobbing her eyes out.  _

Wendy nodded. She shifted to lie down on the bed, curling into Natsu’s side, and clutching handfuls of his shirt. She must have been exhausted, because within moments of lying still, she’d drifted off. 

“Mira’s right, you know,” Gray finally said. “We’re not gonna fix him, and we need to be thinking about what that means.” 

Erza sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. “You can’t think like that. We at least have to try.” 

“‘M not saying we shouldn’t,” he said. “Just that we shouldn’t give ourselves, or him, hope.” 

* * *

_ “ _ _ Wake up, Natsu,” a soft voice said. “Come on. I think I finally did it.” Someone sat him up. Their hands were cold.  _

_ His body felt so heavy, and it took everything just to lift his head and force his eyes open. He was greeted by a smiling face and bright eyes. “Natsu!”  _

_ It was the voice! The one he heard, sometimes.  _

_ Suddenly the smile fell. “Natsu?”  _

_ He didn’t respond. Or rather, he didn’t know  _ how _ to respond. Literally. His mind didn’t seem to have the functions needed to process that he needed to answer the voice.  _

_ “Can you hear me?” they asked.  _

_ Something in his face must have indicated he could, because the person let out a relieved sigh. “Okay. Do you know who you are, Natsu?”  _

_ He blinked, and even  _ that _ took so much effort. His head was getting heavy again. He wanted to lay back down.  _

_ “Okay…” The person pointed to him. “You are Natsu.” Then they held a hand to their own chest. “I’m Zeref.”  _

_ The names meant nothing, but this person…  _ Zeref, _ seemed to find them extremely important. So he decided that maybe they might be.  _

_ His lack of response upset Zeref, he thought. Tears leaked from his eyes. “Please,  _ please, _ Natsu.” His voice shook. “I don’t know what else to do. Please show me you’re in there, and that I didn’t just bring your body back.”  _

_ He forced his mouth open. It ached. His tongue felt thick, and dry. It took him a few moments to remember how to use it. “Ze… Zeref,” he finally managed to get out.  _

_ Zeref’s smile returned. “Natsu!” He pulled him into his chest. It was much warmer than his hands. “I’m your brother, remember? Your brother! I’ve missed you so much!”  _

_ His hands carded through his hair, in that familiar way. One of the few things that  _ was _ familiar to him… to  _ Natsu. 

_ “I’m Natsu.”  _

* * *

“The draconic transformation seems to have begun, for both our sons,” Igneel said. 

Metalicana snorted. “Because they’re both idiots who don’t know how to pace themselves when it comes to their magic.” 

Igneel sighed, and laid his head on his feet. “Perhaps defeating Acnologia was not worth this.” 

Metalicana whacked him with his tail. “It absolutely is, and besides, it’s too late now.” 

Igneel didn’t react. He supposed his friend was correct. He just wished they had discovered a way to keep their children human, at least for the most part. 

And that they had been allowed to remain with them, even just a little while longer. 

* * *

He awoke with a startled scream, choking on smoke and clawing at his chest. 

_ Zeref, Zeref, Zeref, Zeref, Zeref— _

“Natsu! Natsu!” Strong hands pinned him down, and something small and warm latched around his middle. “Calm down! Who is Zeref?” 

He froze, then went limp. Erza’s blurry form came into focus above him. “Erz?” 

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s me, Natsu. What’s wrong?” 

He forced himself up, pressing a hand to his head, and dislodging what he realized was Wendy. “Nothin.’ What’s got you freaking out?” 

“Natsu…” Wendy murmured, voice tiny. She still hadn’t let go of his middle, even though she’d had to shift positions. 

“Who’s Zeref?” Gray asked, leaning over him alongside Erza. 

Natsu frowned. “Who?” 

“You were saying his name in your sleep, just before you woke up screaming,” Erza said. 

He shrugged. “Dunno. Never met anyone named Zeref.” 

“Sounds familiar, though…” Gray muttered, backing off to sit on a stool next to the bed. 

“We’ll worry about that later,” Erza said. “What happened when you collapsed?” 

He shrugged again. “Don’t know. Tried to come back here, and my body just quit working like it was supposed to. It hurt.” 

Gray and Erza exchanged a glance. “Like Porlyusica said…” Gray said. 

“Porlyusica?” Natsu cocked his head. 

Wendy nodded, finally letting go of him. “She came to… to make sure you were okay. You’re okay, right?” 

He grinned. “I’m fine!” He ruffled her hair. “Promise!” 

“Natsu…” Erza said. 

“Promise,” he repeated, though as soon as he turned away from Wendy, his grin vanished. Erza seemed to understand and didn’t press. 

He rested his head on top of Wendy’s. “You can’t use your magic anymore, you know that, right?” 

It broke his heart. She had such a bright future as a wizard, and now she was going to have to start all over. Not to mention, as time went on, she’d lose her slayer abilities. Not just the magic attacks, but her senses as well. 

What if she thought Natsu was weird after she wasn’t like him anymore, just like everyone else did? 

He shook his head. It didn’t matter. He might be gone by then anyways. And his little sister being okay with his odd habits was nowhere near as important as keeping her safe. 

“Yeah, I know,” she said. 

* * *

Piles and piles of books took up Levy’s desk. She’d grabbed every copy she could find that had anything to do with dragons and dragon slayers. 

She wasn’t going to give up like everyone else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since evidently I'm just going fucking nuts with POVs, are there any characters you guys would like a POV from that I haven't done yet? Or any characters I have done that you want more of? 
> 
> Also, tried to do a little explanation of magic, and hope to expand on that soon. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! 
> 
> (Also the action is gonna start picking up again soon)


	7. Phantom Lord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phantom Lord begins their attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost one a.m. and I have work in the morning, yet here I am, if that tells you anything about the state of my life.

Gajeel slunk through the city of Magnolia. It was bursting to the brim with magic, and it made his delicate nose burn. God, how did Natsu and Wendy deal with this? 

He couldn’t let Phantom Lord know about his relationship with them, which meant he was going to have to piss them off enough that they attacked him without trying to talk first. Which meant he was going to have to get rough… 

So when he saw a tiny, blue-haired girl bearing the guild’s emblem, he knew she was the perfect target. A tiny girl like that was sure to be someone the guild thought needed to be protected. And dragon slayers especially weren’t going to take too well to someone hurting a person they were protective of. 

He grabbed her, put his hand over her mouth, and pulled her into an alley. She dropped her armful of books with a muffled shriek. 

She put up quite the struggle, kicking and clawing, she even tried to bite his hand. He couldn’t help but admire that fire. 

He slammed her up against the alley wall, and used a piece of scrap metal to muzzle her. Her big eyes filled with tears, but they did nothing to blur the anger he saw there. She was so light he could keep her pinned with one arm. 

He grinned at her, and let a menacing growl out. He wanted her to look  _ scared.  _

She still glared at him, but the anger began to flicker, and Gajeel knew he’d won. 

* * *

Lucy hoped Cana wasn’t too upset with her. The job hadn’t been as easy as she’d been expecting… 

“I  _ can’t wait _ to sit and drink for a week straight,” the brunette said as she slumped over, shuffling through the streets. “That writer was so  _ whiny!”  _

While she hoped she wasn’t upset, Lucy wasn’t quite sure how she felt about Cana. Sure, she’d seemed nice enough, if a little rough around the edges, but the longer the mission had drug on, and the more Lucy became interested in genuinely helping people rather than just getting a pretty reward, well… Cana became more irritable. 

Which was fine! She’d agreed to help for the money, after all! Lucy really couldn’t fault her for that. She had to support her drinking habit somehow, she supposed. 

She was so distracted by trying to figure Cana out, she walked into her back. “Oof!” She scrambled backwards. “Sorry about tha—” Her voice died in her throat as she realized why Cana had froze. 

Nailed to the guildhall’s front, right alongside the banners, was Levy McGarden. Blood dripped from her wrists, where the giant iron spikes dug in, tearing her skin and muscle to shreds as her weight pulled down on them. The muzzle clamped over her face was so tight it split the skin open on the bridge of her nose and her cheek bones, leaving blood to drip down the contraption and onto her dress. Bruises and what Lucy could only assume were claw marks littered her arms and chest. One of her legs hung awkwardly, suggesting it had been broken. 

“Oh god,” Cana muttered as her hands covered her mouth. “Please don’t let her be dead.” 

But despite all that, Lucy found she could only focus on the banner that hung above Levy, written in what she could only assume was blood. 

_ GIVE US LUCY HEARTFILIA  _

* * *

Levy was rushed into the guildhall, and Happy and Charle were sent to get Porlyusica immediately. 

She was alive. Barely. 

Erza ripped the muzzle off her friend’s face, and tried not to wince at the globs of flesh that peeled off with it, leaving a deep, red line across Levy’s face. She moved on to remove the spikes, but Mirajane stopped her. “If you remove them, she’ll likely bleed out if someone isn’t here to immediately heal her, or at least stop the bleeding." 

“I’ll heal her!” Wendy shouted as soon as she dashed into the infirmary. 

“Wendy, no!” Erza grabbed her before she could get to Levy. “You know what will happen if you use your magic.” 

Wendy struggled in her grasp. “No! It doesn’t matter! I have to save her!” 

She grabbed both the girl’s arms and forced her to stand still. “Wendy, I promise she will be okay. Porlyusica is on her way, and until then, Mira and I are taking care of her.” 

Mirajane, who was already working on setting Levy’s broken leg, turned to give Wendy a reassuring smile. “I promise we can handle this until Porlyusica gets here.” 

“At least let me help, without magic?” she asked. “Let me bandage her cuts. I  _ have _ to help her.” 

Erza finally let go of her. “You can do that. But  _ no _ magic.” 

She nodded, grabbed some bandages off a shelf, and moved to tend to the cuts on Levy’s arms. 

As soon as she got to Levy’s bedside, her eyes widened, and she fell to her knees, dropping the bandages. 

“Wendy!” Erza exclaimed, dashing over. “What’s wrong?” It couldn’t be Levy’s condition. Wendy had seen much worse, working in Fairy Tail’s infirmary. 

It took a moment, but Wendy found her voice again, and as she screamed,  _ “NATSU!” _ as loud as she possibly could, Erza wished she hadn’t. Even Mirajane slammed her hands over her ears. 

Not ten seconds later, the dragon slayer threw open the door to the infirmary and rushed to his sister. “Wendy, what’s wrong?” he demanded. Erza didn’t miss the way his pupils turned to slits as he glanced at Levy. 

Wendy pointed a shaking finger to Levy. “Sm-smell her.” 

Natsu’s brows pinched together in confusion, but obliged the request. He leaned over, and took in a deep breath. 

Whatever caused Wendy to collapse, had the complete opposite effect on Natsu. He shot to his feet, pupils shrinking back to slits, smoke pouring from his mouth, and he clenched his fists. “Gajeel.” The growl in his voice was so thick, Erza could barely understand him. 

“Why would he—I don’t understand.” Wendy’s voice shook as she began to cry. 

_ Gajeel. _ The name certainly explained the two’s intense reactions. 

Their long lost brother had nearly killed Levy, beaten her and broken her, and left her spiked to a wall, with a message written in blood. 

* * *

It took Erza, Elfman, Cana, Gray, and even Wendy latched onto his left foot, to hold Natsu back from a rampage. He’d drug the five of them halfway across the guildhall, spitting and cursing and snarling before he finally gave up. 

“Natsu!” Master Makarov exclaimed. “You can’t go on a rampage in the city! Who knows how many innocent people will be hurt. Not to mention, you’re not supposed to be using your magic right now.” 

Natsu snarled, whatever word meant to go along with the noise was so garbled, Loke had no idea what it had been. 

He’d been the one to get Levy off the wall, and he’d seen some fucked up things in his long life, but that was one of the worst. 

Honestly, he almost told Makarov and the others to let Natsu go, consequences be damned! Hell, if they didn’t let the dragon slayer do it,  _ he’d _ go fuck up whoever had dared to do this to a fellow guild member, a  _ friend. _

The girl this rival guild,  _ Phantom Lord, _ they’d learned, told them to just hand her over. The guild refused, despite her protests. 

“Loke,” Makarov said. “You and Cana are to protect Lucy. Don’t let her out of your sight. Mira, Wendy, and Porlyusica are going to work on healing Levy, and anyone else who might end up injured. Everyone else, engage the enemies within our city! Let them know that challenging Fairy Tail isn’t something they can get away with!” 

The guildhall cheered. 

* * *

“I ain’t lettin’ them bench us,” Natsu growled in Gray’s ear. “I’m going after Gajeel. You want to come?” 

Gray curled his fingers, fighting away the stiffness of the bandages. Even though he  _ knew _ it was a bad idea, and he knew that there would be hell to pay for it later (from Erza especially), he wasn’t going to just hide in the guildhall while their friends, their  _ family _ fought for their lives. “Let’s go.” 

* * *

Mirajane heard the screams as Erza took the full force of the canon blast, and it took everything in her not to run out and make sure she was alright, but she had a job to do. 

“Is she going to be okay?” she asked Porlyusica. Though she had promised Wendy such a thing earlier, she really hadn’t been sure. These were some of the worst injuries they’d seen in a long while. 

The old healer sighed. “She’ll recover, eventually. May have a bit of a limp thanks to the leg, and some scarring, especially on the face and wrists, but yes, she will live.” 

She felt her shoulders sag in relief. 

“Why don’t you go check up on those fire and ice boys?” she suggested. “They’re probably not happy about being under house arrest.” 

Mirajane agreed, and opened up the infirmary’s door to find Natsu and Gray. 

She couldn’t say she was surprised to find they’d snuck out of the guildhall, probably directly into the fray. 

Something in her chest told her she’d sense where they were soon enough. 

That demonic energy had been building in both of them in the few days since she’d first sensed it. 

It was about to explode. 

* * *

Gajeel smelt Natsu’s approach long before he heard or saw him. His scent was a little different than it had been when they were kids, but still so clearly  _ Natsu.  _

He almost let his little brother pounce on him, just like when they were kids. He used to love wrestling with his siblings, and sometimes he’d even let them win, when he was in a particularly generous mood. 

Wendy always went for the legs. Sting started with a blow to the chest. Rogue fought dirty and went straight for the eyes and nose. 

But Natsu… he had always crept up behind Gajeel, and tackled him from behind, tried to pin him down. 

It seemed that hadn’t changed. Except now Natsu was a lot bigger, and faster, and he didn’t just tackle, he  _ pounced.  _

Gajeel just barely leapt out of the way in time, and whirled around to get the first look at his little brother in nearly eight years. 

There were similarities, his unruly pink hair, his facial features (though the baby fat had long since been stripped away), the way he held himself, even Igneel’s scarf. 

But a lot had changed, too. His mouth, which Gajeel remembered to always be smiling, was twisted into a snarl, large fangs bared. His eyes were darker, and not just because his pupils had shrank to slits. Smoke flowed from the corners of his mouth. “So it is you.” His voice was laced with a snarl that could rival his own. 

It seemed his plan to piss Natsu off had worked. He wasn’t sure if that relieved him or not. 

Gajeel didn’t reply, not trusting himself to. He wanted to run to Natsu, wrap him in a hug, and demand to know what had happened over the years, if he was okay, if  _ Wendy _ was okay. But he couldn’t do that. Not with the other members of Phantom Lord crawling through the city. 

The sounds of combat rang in his ears, screams, the shouting of spells, rumbles and crashes as buildings collapsed. 

“Why did you hurt Levy?” Natsu demanded, taking a step forward and clenching his fists. 

Gajeel thanked the heavens that his brother had such a ferocious temper. It really had been easy to make him angry. 

“So that was her name?” he asked, forcing uncaring into his voice. While he’d never shied away from hurting others, something about that girl… this was definitely the first time in a long time he’d felt some  _ guilt _ over it. 

“ _ Yes. _ Her name is  _ Levy McGarden,” _ he snapped. “ _ Why did you hurt her?”  _

Gajeel shrugged. “Felt like it. And I had to tell you we needed the Heartfilia bitch somehow.” 

Heat exploded from Natsu’s body, raising the temperature of the air by at least ten degrees. Just how powerful had he gotten? 

“You gonna do somethin’ about it?” he asked. 

Natsu finally ignited his flames, covering his entire body in them. 

Gajeel grinned. His brother had always been a scrappy fighter. He wondered how much better he’d gotten. 

* * *

This water witch was about to drive Gray insane. 

She powerful.  _ Very _ powerful. The way she could manipulate water, turning even her  _ own _ body into the liquid, was an ability that could almost be considered S-class. 

But she wasn’t fighting to the full extent of her abilities. 

_ Why? _

She fought hard enough to keep him on the ropes, keep him busy, but she definitely wasn’t trying to kill him, or even  _ hurt _ him, really. 

What the  _ fuck _ was her problem? He wanted to  _ fight _ someone! To get revenge for Levy! To take out anger on something for what was happening to Natsu, to  _ him. _

How was he supposed to enjoy this if she wasn’t going to truly  _ fight  _ him? He had half a mind to abandon her and go find an opponent that was going to take this as seriously as he was. 

The only thing that stopped him was his hand. 

His common sense told him getting into a life or death fight with his magic so unpredictable was a very bad idea. Also, if he got himself killed, he couldn’t even  _ imagine _ what Erza would do to him. 

He created a spear of ice, and while his hand tingled, it didn’t  _ hurt. _ He hoped it stayed that way. He tried shoving it through the wizard’s stomach, but she merely turned herself to water again and jumped back. 

Even though he’d left himself wide open. She’d had the perfect opportunity for an attack. 

He wondered how low he could get his defenses before she finally caved and hit him… 

* * *

Natsu went flying backwards after a hit to the face. 

God, he hated Gajeel’s ability to turn to metal. Any harder, and that hit would have broken his jaw. He could already feel a nasty bruise forming. 

He forced himself back to his feet, and snarled at his brother. 

He didn’t know what had happened to Gajeel over the years, but clearly  _ something _ had happened. It wasn’t just all the piercings, or the hair he clearly hadn’t brushed in months, or the scars that littered his arms, or even the fangs and scales (and Natsu  _ really _ didn’t want to think about what those implied). 

Sure, even as a kid, Gajeel had always been a little… rough. And Metalicana certainly hadn’t been a good influence, regarding that. But he’d never hurt anyone just for the fun of it. 

He forced his flames to get hotter, and while he knew as soon as any Fairy Tail members found out he used his magic,  _ this much, _ they were going to kick his ass, he didn’t care. 

Whatever Gajeel had once been to him, he’d hurt Levy. He’d hurt Natsu’s  _ friend. _ Someone that was  _ his. _ That wasn’t something he could just get away with. 

He forced more power into his fist, willing the fire to get hotter and hotter, before finally driving his fist into his brother’s jaw. He felt the metal crumple as the heat softened it. 

Gajeel let out a shout of pain and reeled backwards. His metal skin dripped onto the pavement, sizzling. Natsu found himself smirking as he imagined what that meant for his skin after it turned back to normal. 

But he wasn’t stunned for long. His features morphed back into a snarl as he took another swing at Natsu. He dodged, and grabbed his wrist, letting the heat he was still building in his fingers melt even more of the metal. 

Gajeel grit his teeth, but didn’t cry out again. He grabbed the back of Natsu’s vest and threw him into a wall. Brick and wood collapsed around him. 

He forced himself up with a groan. 

“Stay down, Natsu,” Gajeel said, voice as gruff as ever, but somehow… softer. “It’s better for everyone if you just… stay down.” 

“Like hell I’m stayin’ down!” He ignited his fire again. “I’m not the one that’s gonna lose this fight! I’m gonna kick your ass, then you’re gonna pay for what you did to Levy!” 

His mind began to go dark at the edges, the shadows encroaching on his rationality. He’d been told his temper was one of his biggest flaws, but Natsu never knew how to accurately explain the way his mind went all fuzzy when he went on his rampages, how he didn’t have control, how he wasn’t  _ himself _ anymore. 

From how fast the darkness was spreading in his mind, he knew this one was going to be bad. 

More smoke built up in his lungs, and he began panting, dispelling as much of it as he could. His fists clenched and unclenched as the anger and hatred and darkness in his head built. 

_ Zer… Zere— _

“Woah, what the hell?” Gajeel stumbled back a step. “Natsu?” 

His mind shut down, and his rage broke free. 

* * *

Despite Mirajane and Porlyusica’s protests, as soon as she found out Natsu had run off to join the battle, Wendy sprinted out of the guildhall. 

She had to find her brother before he did something irreversible. 

* * *

Lucy tried to tune out the sounds of Loke and Cana’s fight. 

She just didn’t understand why they, the whole  _ guild _ , were risking so much for her. She’d only been a member for a little over a week! She wasn’t really even  _ friends _ with any of the members yet. 

So  _ why _ were they doing this? 

Lucy jumped when Cana suddenly appeared next to her, grabbing her hand. “Come on,” she said. “Loke’s gonna distract them while we move you to a new place. We’re not gonna last much longer.” 

Her eyes widened. They were going to leave Loke behind!? He was going to die! “But what about Loke?” She pulled against Cana’s insistent tugging. 

She smirked. “Trust me, that bastard’s a tough one to kill.” She resumed her pulling, and this time Lucy let her pull her after her. “Now come on. I’m not letting someone as hot as you get kidnapped before I get the chance to bang ya.” 

Lucy froze again.  _ “What?”  _

Cana yanked her after her, with a surprising amount of strength the celestial spirit mage hadn’t expected from her. “You heard me. Now come  _ on.”  _

Despite the horrific situation they were in, Lucy couldn’t help but realize that maybe… maybe Cana was a little pretty. 

* * *

Juvia really didn’t want to hurt the ice mage. She felt drawn to him in a way that she just couldn’t explain, and she would never understand why if she killed him. 

But he was leaving her more and more openings (and she had the sneaking suspicion that they were deliberate), that she eventually had to take some. Otherwise, any other members of the guild that witnessed her fight may report her back to the master, and showing mercy was not allowed in a place like Phantom Lord.

What concerned her more, however, was that when she hit the man, he  _ smiled. _

She wrapped him in water, and while it didn’t take him long to escape it, it caused the bandages wrapped around his hand and lower arm to peel away. 

Revealing black markings, and bands of white. 

Juvia couldn’t stop the gasp that escape her. She hadn’t seen markings like that since she was a little girl. 

She needed to end this. Quickly. 

Then never let this man out of her sight ever again. 

* * *

Gajeel could probably count the times he’d been legitimately scared for his life on one hand. 

And this was one of those times. 

Natsu had him pinned, with a strength that should be impossible. His eyes had gone dead, devoid of something human. His expression slack, except for his bared teeth. The smoke that leaked from between his teeth and curled around his face gave him a… demonic appearance, that left dread sinking through Gajeel’s gut. 

His flaming hands melted the metal skin of his wrists, leaving the molten iron to drip down his arms. 

It took everything in him to keep from screaming. 

His nails dug deeper, and he opened his mouth, giving Gajeel a horrific view of the breath attack building in the back of his throat. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. He didn’t think it would kill him, but it would sure as hell fuck his face up. 

“Natsu!” 

His eyes shot back open, just in time to see a little blue and green blur tackle Natsu, and rolling a few feet away, tangled together with his horrifying little brother. 

Wendy sat up, before  _ slapping _ Natsu across the cheek. “You’re not supposed to use your magic!” 

Gajeel scrambled to his feet and grabbed the back of Wendy’s dress. “Get away from him!” He pulled her back. 

Something was very clearly  _ wrong _ with Natsu, something off in the head, or soul, or  _ something. _ Whatever had been in his expression, it wasn’t  _ human. _ It was unnatural, and  _ wrong. _ And while Gajeel had gone out of his way to anger him, he knew that whatever that rage was, it didn’t belong to his brother. 

Natsu  _ scared _ Gajeel. He’d  _ hurt _ him. 

God knew what he’d do to Wendy. 

However… she didn’t seem to care that he was trying to protect her. “Gajeel! Let go of me!” She clawed at his hand and kicked her little legs. “Put me down!” 

“He’ll hurt you!” he protested. 

Natsu forced himself up with a groan, then shot to his feet. “Put her down, Gajeel!” He raised his fists. 

And his eyes were  _ Natsu’s _ . The aura of malice and hate and rage around him was gone. Gajeel dropped Wendy in shock, leaving the little girl to hit the ground with a small, “Oof.” 

“Wendy, get out of the way,” Natsu growled. “I’m finishing this.” 

She jumped up, ran forward, and shoved Natsu’s chest as hard as she possibly could. And while Gajeel knew she was doing her best to look extremely pissed, she just looked… cute. 

“Never mind ignoring the ‘no magic’ rule!” she shouted. “You were about to rampage! Natsu, you’ve been doing so good. The Master’s been proud of you! Don’t go on one now!” 

Gajeel cocked his head.  _ Rampage?  _ So that had happened before? 

What the fuck had  _ happened _ in the past eight years? 

Wendy pointed back to Gajeel. “Look what you did to his face! What if I have to heal him?” 

Natsu snorted. “He deserved it…” Then his eyes widened. “Wendy! No magic! You! Can’t! Use Magic!” He punctuated each word with a shake of her shoulders. 

What the hell were they on about? Not using magic? Why the hell not? 

Wendy kicked at his shin. “And neither can you!” 

Natsu crossed his arms. “Not the same. It’s too late for me.” 

Then Wendy began to cry, and Gajeel  _ really _ had not been expecting that. Big, fat tears dripped from her eyes, and she collapsed in the street, pulling her knees to her chest. “Do you even  _ care!?”  _ she wailed. 

The anger and tension left Natu’s body as he sat next to Wendy, and shit, Gajeel felt a wave of deja vu flow over him. They both looked so similar to when they were kids. 

“It’s not that, Wendy.” He rested his chin on the top of her head, and Gajeel really began to think they’d forgotten he was standing there. “It’s just… There’s not anything to do about it.” 

Wendy whimpered. 

“Gajeel…” Natsu said, voice taking on a dark edge. “Why’d you hurt Levy?” 

Maybe it was the tears in Wendy’s eyes, or the sincerity in Natsu’s, but he collapsed. “If they find out I didn’t do my job… They’ll hurt Juvia…” 

As soon as the higher up members of Phantom Lord found out he’d become close with the water mage, they hadn’t hesitated to use her against him, thrilled they’d finally gotten some good leverage. Juvia didn’t know, and he had no intention of her finding out. 

Which meant Phantom Lord thinking he was as vicious and cutthroat as ever. 

Natsu growled. “You could have told me that, you ass.” 

Gajeel rolled his eyes. “You’re as stupid as ever. What were you gonna do about it?” 

His eyes narrowed as he tightened his hold on Wendy. “Nothing, but I wouldn't have fought you. She’s yours, not mine. You go get her. It’s not my job.” 

Gajeel frowned. “Huh?” 

Natsu shrugged. “Wendy’s mine. Just like Gray and Erza. I wouldn’t let you protect them. That’s  _ my _ job. Same with you and this Juvia person. Go get her and get away from whoever’s tryin’ to take her from you.” 

Without another word, he sprinted towards Juvia. 

* * *

The water mage turned out to be… quite the opponent after she stopped holding back. It took a while, but eventually Gray managed to turn things his way. 

And then the pain in his hand had returned in full force, leaving him to collapse at the girl’s feet, with the world going hazy. 

“Poor thing,” he thought he heard her whisper. “I can help you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm really excited about where this is going. Buckle up y'all. It's about to get wiiiiiiiiiild


	8. Aftershocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia wonders why she can't bring herself to harm Gray, Loke and Cana follow Lucy to wrap up things with her family, Erza has a talk with Gray and Natsu, and Makarov makes an offer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate transition chapters but I actually liked how this turned out. As of right now, there will be a few more (probably two or three) less action packed chapters, and then we're diving headlong into the Tower of Heaven arc, which I plan on making much longer than the cursed island and Phantom Lord arcs.

Long ago, before it was learned what the demons of the books of Zeref were, they lived amongst humans. Many don’t remember this, however, and they certainly don’t remember the half-demon, half-human offspring that were born as a result. 

Descendants of these creatures still roam the world today. They’re uncommon, and truth be told, most of the family lines have died out. 

Actually, there’s only one left. One family, still affected by the demon blood that runs through their veins, as diluted as it may be. 

Though it couldn’t be determined exactly which of Zeref’s demons they were descended from, the Fullbusters’ genes were forever tainted by the world’s darkest magic. 

Of course, by now, the Fullbusters weren’t even aware of this. Most of them were killed before they ever had the chance to learn. 

The Locksers had made sure of it. Had been doing so for generations. 

It wasn’t necessarily that they believed those affected by demon blood were evil, but there were so many downsides and potential dangers… that it wasn’t worth letting them live. Whether the darkness in their blood attracted other demons, the demon blood in them took over, creating monsters, or a surge of dark power caused by the blood killed them, those descended from demons were not meant to live long or happy lives. 

Juvia herself had not been present when Deliora had massacred that village ten years ago. But her mother had. She’d followed Deliora there, hoping to finally put an end to the Fullbuster line. 

She never came back. 

Rain poured in her hometown ever since then. Juvia never was able to make it stop, and it wasn’t long before the village forced her out, fed up with the floods and ruined crops. 

After several years of barely scraping by wherever should could, she finally ended up with Phantom Lord, and while it wasn’t great, it was home, and the best she could do. 

One of the few things that had ever given her comfort for her mother’s death, was the knowledge that the Fullbusters had perished with her, torn to shreds by Deliora. 

But now… one lay at her feet, demonic markings crawling up his arm. 

By all means, she  _ should _ kill him. Then her mother wouldn’t have died for nothing. Her family’s purpose would finally be fulfilled. 

There was no reason this man needed to live. She didn’t know him. He was her  _ enemy.  _ But she just couldn’t find it in herself to kill him, as easy as it would be. 

She got down on her knees, and began peeling off the remainder of the soggy bandages. The markings likely only developed on a person this young because he had learned how to use magic. Magic often gave the demon blood more of a foothold, after all. 

The white bands around his wrist seemed to belong to a more intricate pattern, that would probably finish forming as the marking continued to spread. She delicately traced them with a finger. They were pretty. 

But some demons were, and those were often the most dangerous. 

It wasn’t just the markings that were pretty.  _ He _ was. She couldn’t help but brush his dark hair out of his face. It was soft. 

She almost wished he’d defeated her. It wouldn’t have put her in…  _ this _ situation. 

She wasn’t going to kill him, that much was obvious. She thinks she knew that from the beginning. But she had to do  _ something _ . It was her duty to protect Fiore from demon descendants. So she was just going to have to keep a very close eye on this man. 

How she was going to do that, however… 

She almost screamed when she felt rough hands on her shoulders. She  _ did _ scream when she turned and saw Gajeel’s face. 

The lower, left half of his face was a horrific amalgamation of blisters, missing skin, third degree burns, and even a small section of his  _ jaw bone _ was visible. His eyebrows were pinched together, and he bit down on his lip. Juvia couldn’t even imagine the pain he must be in, and she knew it was taking everything in him not to cry. “What happened?” she whispered, horrified. 

He let go of her shoulders, and she noticed his wrists were in the same sorry condition. “Natsu happened. Can’t say I blame ‘im. The little bastard’s gotten pretty damn powerful, I’ll admit.” He grimaced, but Juvia could see the twinkle of pride in his eyes. 

She narrowed her eyes. “Did he actually defeat you? Or did you let him?” 

He didn’t answer. He took a deep breath, then muttered, “We’re leaving Phantom Lord, so let go of the corpse and come on.” 

Surprise flitted through her, causing her body to tense up. “What?” Gajeel wanted to  _ leave _ Phantom Lord? Could they even  _ do _ that? Was that allowed? “Why?” Sure, while she knew the guild wasn’t a great environment, well… could her and Gajeel really do any better? “And he’s not dead.” 

He glanced down at the man and wrinkled his nose. “He smells weird. And yeah, we’re goin.’ It ain’t a good place, you know that, Ju. You deserve better. Besides, the rest of the Element Four got their asses kicked, and Natsu did me in.” He gestured to his face with a wince. “You’re about the only one still kicking. We  _ lost. _ This is the perfect time to get out.” 

Juvia’s eyebrows knit together. The rest of her team was down? She didn’t doubt Gajeel, his senses really  _ were _ amazing. If he said they were done, they were done. 

It was just hard to believe. Phantom Lord didn’t  _ lose.  _ They never had. “Okay… what are you suggesting we do?” 

He gazed out over the smoking ruins of Magnolia. “I don’t know. Just gotta get out. Natsu said somethin’ and I just… we gotta get out, Ju.” 

She’d rarely heard Gajeel so sincere, and she knew he was right. After a defeat like this, even if they stayed, it wouldn’t be long before Phantom Lord fell apart anyways. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

She took one last, long look at Fullbuster. She supposed she could leave him for now, but she knew they would meet again soon. 

* * *

The moment Erza opened her eyes, she had an armful of Mirajane. The white-haired mage leapt into the bed and cuddled up against her. “Don’t you  _ ever _ do that again. Promise me. Promise me you won’t. You almost  _ died.”  _

She knew that. Of course she did. How could she not know that jumping in front of that canon might be the last thing she ever did? 

But she had to protect her guild. Even if it meant giving up her life. “Is everyone else okay?” 

Mirajane sighed and pressed closer to her. “Levy’s still unconscious, but she’ll live. Loke took quite the beating, but you know how fast he heals. Everyone’s got a few minor scrapes and bruises, but nothing they’re not used to.” She got very quiet, and broke eye contact with Erza. “We found Gray after the battle. He didn’t listen and went out to fight anyways. He was unconscious, and has been since. And his hand… there’s something wrong with it… some kind of marking…” Her voice took on a dark edge. 

Erza forced herself up and out of bed, despite Mirajane’s protests. “Where is he?” she demanded. “I have to make sure he’s okay!” 

Mirajane got up and forced Erza back into the bed before pointing to her left. “Look. He’s right there. You can worry about him after you’ve rested awhile. It’s not like you’re uninjured.” 

Erza sighed, but knew she was right. There wasn’t really anything she could do for Gray anyways. 

Mirajane sat next to her again, wrapped her arm around her, and rubbed her shoulder. “Wendy and Natsu snuck out as well…” 

Erza stiffened. “They didn’t…?” 

She sighed. “Wendy didn’t. But Natsu…” 

“Dammit,” Erza hissed. She wasn’t surprised, especially since his brother was involved, but she was still going to give him hell for it. “Is he okay?” 

“He has a few injuries, but nothing too serious. From what Wendy said, that Gajeel fellow was much worse off.” She began running her fingers through Erza’s hair with her free hand. “She also snapped him out of a rampage.” 

She frowned. Again, she couldn’t say she was  _ surprised, _ but… well, it’d just been a good while since Natsu had gotten angry enough during a fight that it had happened. She’d been hoping he was finally beginning to grow out of his temper. 

Or at least, the intense, scary side of his temper. Anger during a fight was okay. Hell, Erza was angry during most of her fights, especially if her guildmates were in danger. But she’d never gotten so angry there had been the collateral damage of innocents, that she’d scared onlookers, that she lost control of herself. 

All things Natsu had struggled with his whole life. 

She shook her head. It was over now, there was nothing she could do about it, except maybe scold him for it later. “So what actually happened? We  _ did _ win, right?” 

Mirajane nodded. “Cana and Loke kept moving Lucy to different spots in the city, so they never actually got ahold of her. Most of Phantom Lord’s members were evenly matched with us, so it took a while, but eventually… most of them were defeated. Actually, the only one that was a big threat that wasn’t defeated was the woman Gray fought. I think she was a member of their elite team, but she disappeared. So did the dragon slayer. Most of the others are in the custody of the magic council. Turns out most members of the guild have been involved in a number of magical law violations, and just criminals in general.” 

Erza hummed. At least that much was good. Although she didn’t like that the one who had hurt Levy so badly got off without punishment. 

Maybe that was the first thing she would do as soon as she was well enough. Hunt down Gajeel and finish what Natsu had started. 

* * *

“And just where do you think you’re going?” 

Lucy had to have leaped at least three feet in the air, and had Loke not thought the situation was so serious, he would have laughed. 

Cana, however, had no qualms about it, and the air was filled her loud, obnoxious laughter. He almost smacked her. 

“What are you two doing here?” she demanded, slamming her apartment door shut. 

“Asked you first,” Loke said, and Cana leaned against him, still cackling. 

Loke couldn’t say he cared a whole lot about Lucy Heartfilia. He was a little curious about her, her being a celestial spirit wizard and all, but beyond that, yeah, he didn’t really care. 

He was here because Cana obviously did care, even if she wouldn’t admit it. And they  _ were _ best friends after all, so he couldn’t just let her uselessly pine forever. Okay, maybe not forever, since Cana was very straight forward, but Loke knew he could nudge this along. 

Lucy crossed her arms. “I’m going home.” 

_ That _ snapped Cana out of her amusement. “I’m sorry, what the  _ fuck?” _ She leaned forward, hands on her hips. “We risked our asses for you, and you decide to just  _ run off?”  _

Lucy glared at her. “I never said I wasn’t coming back. My  _ father _ sent that guild after me. I need to make sure he  _ never _ does anything like that ever again, and tell him I’m  _ not _ going back.” 

Loke hummed, while Cana let out a little, “Oh.” 

“Now.” She glanced between the two of them. “Care to tell me what you two were doing waiting outside my apartment in the middle of the night?” 

Loke patted Cana’s back. “This is all you, babe.” 

She glared at him. “Well it’s just… you looked upset the past few days, so we thought… we’d come… check up on you.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “In the middle of the night?” 

“Yeah,” Loke said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Is that weird?” 

Her face scrunched up in confusion. “Yes?” 

“Oh.” He smiled. “My bad.” 

Cana snorted, elbowed him, and gave him a glare that clearly meant  _ Stop flirting with the cute girl!  _

And okay, yes, while he wanted to help Cana out, well, he wasn’t  _ blind. _ Lucy was  _ very _ attractive. And it wasn’t like they couldn’t  _ share. _ They’d both dated that one guy a couple years ago… 

“Well,” Lucy said after a moment of awkward silence. “I’m fine, and I really should get going so… you two can go back to, wherever you live.” 

Loke jabbed his thumb towards Cana. “I live on her couch so I can’t go home until she goes home. She won’t give me a key.” 

Somehow Lucy managed to look ever more confused. “So… are you two together, or?” 

“Nope.” Loke shook his head. “Used to be, and I was too lazy to find my own place so she let me live on her couch as long as I cook and do the laundry.” 

“Which you haven’t done the past few days,” Cana grumbled. 

“So you were dating, but you’re not anymore, but you still live together and spend a lot of time together.” 

“Yep.” Loke nodded. 

“Pretty much,” Cana said as she leaned against the wall. 

Lucy began walking down the street, and didn’t protest when they followed. “If you don’t mind me asking, if you get along so well, why did you break up?” 

They shrugged and said in unison, “Got bored.” 

Lucy’s head whipped around.  _ “What?” _

“Yeah I’d rather have Cana as a drinking buddy than a girlfriend,” he said. 

She whacked the back of his head. “And  _ your _ face got old kissing.” 

He glared at her. “And  _ your _ breath always tasted like booze.” 

Eventually, they wound up at the train station, Loke and Cana having spent most of the time bickering. “Are you just going to follow me all the way to my old house?” Lucy asked as they followed her onto the train. 

“Can we?” Loke asked. 

“Yeah, got nothin’ better to do,” Cana added. 

Lucy sighed and shook her head. “I guess I can’t stop you, but I would prefer to handle my father myself.” 

“Sure sweetheart,” Loke said. “We’ll just hang out in the wine cellar.” 

Lucy groaned while Cana grinned. 

* * *

“You’re  _ fucking idiots,” _ Erza snarled. She’d been laid up in bed for three days, and she’d finally been given the all clear to leave the infirmary. 

Gray had woken up the day before and been released, and Natsu had never been laid up to begin with, and Erza felt that that wasn’t fair. 

The only bright side was that she had been given three days to plan this lecture, while most of them were made up on the spot. It also meant that Gray and Natsu had to have been looking over their shoulders for her, just waiting for the inevitable scolding. 

“The guild told you to stay inside! That they could handle it and that you weren’t in the best condition to do so. And they were  _ right!”  _ She leaned forward, and Gray and Natsu flinched back. “Gray, you got your ass kicked. Natsu, I don’t even really know what happened between you and your brother, but someone else probably could have handled him.” 

Natsu had the decency to look mildly ashamed. Gray schooled his expression into something neutral. 

She fell into a chair. “I’m  _ tired, _ you two. So  _ tired. _ You can never just… sometimes I think you  _ want _ to die.” 

“Erza!” Gray began. 

She held up a hand, cutting him off. “And you might not. I don’t know. But that’s what it  _ feels _ like. You act like your lives are nothing, things that can just be thrown away. Don’t you know how that makes me feel? I  _ love _ you, and I can’t lose you. Not like that. Not when it’s so easy to prevent. You  _ have _ to know that.” 

Gray hung his head. “Erza… I  _ don’t _ want to die. I promise, I  _ don’t.  _ I’m sorry. I just… I can’t let anyone  _ else _ die when I could stop it…” 

She sighed. “I suppose I understand that. But how can you help anyone if  _ you _ are dead? Gray, I’m begging you to get help. I  _ can’t _ watch you die. I don’t think  _ I _ could survive it. So save me. Save me by saving yourself.” She held her hand out. 

Ever so gently, Gray took it. “Okay. I’ll get help. I’ll stop fighting until I’m okay.” 

She let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.” Then she glanced to Natsu, who had been disturbingly quiet. “Natsu?” 

He stared at the floor so intensely Erza thought he might burn a hole through it. “It  _ isn’t _ easy to prevent though… I  _ am _ dying, more or less.” 

Pain and panic shot through Erza’s chest. How could she not have noticed he felt that way? He was always so carefree… always smiling, even in the days since Levy had revealed his fate, she just assumed he had accepted it. 

How could she be so  _ stupid?  _

“That’s not true,” Gray argued, though his voice was soft.

Natsu didn’t answer. He didn’t even move. His eyes flicking over to Gray for just a second was the only indication he’d even heard him. 

“It’s not,” Erza added. “You’re not dying, and we can still try and find a cure.” 

His head snapped up, and his teeth were bared. “We won’t. So  _ stop trying.  _ Just leave it alone, and after… take care of Wendy.” 

“Natsu!” Gray protested. “You can’t just—” 

“Can’t just what? Give up? Why the hell not?  _ You _ have, you just won’t admit it,” he said as he clenched his fists. “I’m not  _ stupid, _ and I think you forgot my ears are just as good as my nose.” He got up and stormed out of the guildhall. 

Gray tried to go after him, but Erza stopped him. “Don’t. I don’t think us trying to talk to him will help right now. Let’s just let him be for now.” 

* * *

Puss leaked from his fucked up face. He’d figured an infection would set in sooner or later, given their sorry lodging conditions and lack of medical attention. He’d just hoped it would hold off for a while. 

He hissed as Juvia’s water prodded at the wound. “You should have at least tried to keep it clean, Gajeel. It’s going to scar.” 

He huffed. “It was gonna scar either way.” There was no way it  _ wouldn’t. _ His bone had been on full display, for fuck’s sake! Still was, actually. 

She hummed, and fell onto the rickety cot she’d been using for a bed. It was the best they could do in this abandoned building. And this abandoned building was the best they could do, considering that Juvia refused to leave Magnolia for reasons she wouldn’t disclose. 

But Gajeel didn’t push. After all, it wasn’t like he’d shared his secrets with her. It wouldn’t be fair for him to demand hers. 

“Gajeel Redfox and Juvia Lockser?” 

Gajeel shot to his feet and shoved Juvia behind him. How the hell had he not noticed this old man entering their shitty shelter? “Who the fuck are you?” he demanded. 

The little old man raised his hands as he took a few steps forward. “I’m Makarov Dreyar, the Master of Fairy Tail.” 

Gajeel sensed no malice from the man, which was the only reason he wasn’t dead yet. His eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” 

Juvia peaked around him. “Are you here to arrest us?” 

A thoughtful look passed over the man’s face. “If a person is guilty of breaking Fiore’s magical laws of conduct, one of the ways they can be pardoned is if they join an official guild, where they can be carefully monitored and controlled, as well as offer their skills to the people of Fiore. You two are far too good of wizards to spend the rest of your lives in the council’s dungeons.” 

Juvia bounded forward, too quick for Gajeel to grab her. “You want us to join Fairy Tail?” 

Makarov nodded. “I believe it’s a good option for you, and we welcome those who don’t have anywhere else to go. You won’t have to live on the run, you could thrive.” He glanced at Gajeel. “And receive some proper medical attention.” 

Gajeel scowled. 

“And Gajeel, if I’m recalling my information correctly, you’ve got family within Fairy Tail.” He offered him a small smile. “I’m sure Natsu and Wendy would be thrilled to have you in their lives again. They’ve told me many stories about you.” 

Gajeel decided not to argue, to point out that Natsu was the one who had done this to his face and wrists, and how he likely wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He wasn’t sure he could handle speaking the words aloud. 

“Oh, Gajeel.” Juvia turned to him. “This is perfect! Please! Come with me!” 

He frowned, and her bright smile began to fade. 

He wasn’t going to stop her. She was right. This  _ was _ perfect. For her. He just didn’t think it was a good idea for  _ him. _ Never mind Natsu and Wendy, but he was the one who nearly destroyed that girl. Despite their master’s invitation, Gajeel knew he wouldn’t be welcome by a single member. “Go on, Ju. You’re right. I’m sure you’ll love it there.” He patted the top of her head. 

Tears began to build in her eyes. “You’re really not gonna come?” 

“Gajeel… If I may,” Makarov said, taking another step forward. “If this is in regards to Miss McGarden, the wizard that you did unforgivable things to, she knows I’m extending this invitation to you, and she gave her approval.” 

He couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping open. “W-What?” 

He nodded. “She thinks you deserve a second chance, especially after Natsu informed us that you only did what you did to protect this young lady.” 

Juvia whipped around. “What?” 

He grimaced. “It’s not important, Ju.” 

Makarov continued. “And young man, there are things you need to speak to your brother about, regarding your magic. Trust me, this is all in your better interests.” 

Natsu and Wendy’s argument about not using their magic flitted through his head. Did this man’s words have something to do with that?

“Fine,” he agreed. 

Juvia wrapped her arms around him with an excited squeal. 

Gajeel and Juvia were going to join Fairy Tail. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I accidentally fell in love with Loke and Cana's relationship, and am now seriously considering Lucy/Cana/Loke as a polyamorous ship, so what would y'all think of that? 
> 
> Also, updates are likely going to get more sporadic. Due to family issues, I'm probably going to be moving in with my dad within the next few days, and since he lives ten hours away, it's going to be a massive transition, including quitting my job, which really helped me with the structure my life needs to write everyday. But even if I drop off the face of the planet for a while, I promise I'll eventually be back, I've just got to get adjusted to things


	9. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu and Gray talk, Levy copes with her injuries, Gajeel and Juvia officially join Fairy Tail, and Gajeel has *feelings* (gross)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if you noticed but I decided to tag this as angst, because let's be real, it's angsty af and is only gonna get worse from here on out *shrugs*

Happy brushed his head against Natsu’s upper arm. “You’re really upset, aren’t you?” he asked. 

Natsu grunted. 

“You should probably tell Gray and Erza,” the cat said. 

Natsu picked up a little stick and began breaking it into tiny pieces. “I think they know.” How could they not, after what he’d said? After storming out like that? 

He shouldn’t have snapped at Erza. This wasn’t her fault. She was just worried, and he knew they were trying, it just… 

It felt so hopeless. He could  _ feel _ things inside him changing, as if learning what was going on allowed him to finally  _ realize _ it. He should have figured it out as soon as it had started happening. 

His humanity was important to him, and while he knew that his humanity had never been as pure as everyone else’s, losing what he did have was like a kick to the face. 

He loved dragons, and he knew they weren’t mindless beasts, and that they thought and loved. Igneel, Grandine, Metalicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum had all taught him that. 

But because he’d spent so much time around dragons, that just meant he knew how  _ different _ they were. How much he might change… 

And not just that, but even  _ if _ nothing about him changed other than his body, well… it wasn’t like he could still be a member of Fairy Tail, now could he? He wouldn’t be able to go on job requests, he’d probably have to leave Magnolia, civilization in general, actually, because most humans were  _ terrified _ of dragons, even the nice ones. And even if he didn’t have to do that, it wasn’t exactly like he’d even be able to fit in the guildhall, or even his fucking  _ house. _ Dragons were  _ huge!  _

He groaned and flopped back onto the grass. This  _ sucked!  _

Happy began licking his cheek, and Natsu couldn’t help but smile. At least he’d always have Happy. Even if he had to leave, even if he changed so much he was unrecognizable, the little cat would never let him be alone. 

He wasn’t sure how long he laid in the woods just outside his house. He was actually beginning to drift off when someone kicked his side.  _ Hard.  _

He jerked up with a wheeze. 

“Gray!” Happy accused. “That was mean!” 

Gray muttered something along the lines of, “I don’t care,” asked if him and Natsu could have a moment alone, then collapsed to sit next to Natsu. “That was a real dick move, man.” 

He sighed and rested his head on his knees. “I know. I’m sorry.” 

Gray growled and whacked the back of his head. “It’s not me you need to be apologizing to.” He began rubbing at the markings on his wrist. “She just wanted to… make sure we were okay.” 

Natsu was silent for a moment, before finally saying, “And if I’m not?” 

Gray tensed for a moment, then relaxed and scooted a little closer. “I guess that would make sense. But there’s probably better ways to figure it out than yelling at Erza.” 

He hummed and hugged his knees closer. “I don’t… I don’t want this, Gray. I like my life the way it is, and I… I don’t want  _ this.”  _ His voice cracked. He tried to blink back the tears before Gray noticed them, but they were already dripping down his face. 

Gray reached out, grabbed Natsu’s shirt, and yanked him in a hug, albeit a very awkward one. He began petting the back of his hair and even angled his head so that Natsu could rub his cheek against him the way he liked. 

Natsu’s eyes widened, before he squeezed them shut and began sobbing. Gray almost never initiated physical contact, leaving that up to him, and even then, he was often at least a little uncomfortable with it. Natsu grabbed onto him so tightly he dimly worried he might be hurting him, but Gray didn’t complain. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, still petting his hair. “I wish I could tell you something good. Levy’s trying, we’re  _ all _ trying. I promise.” 

He buried his face in Gray’s chest. “I-I-I know. I didn’t mean… what I said back there, I just—” 

“I know,” Gray interrupted. “You know you’re allowed to be upset, right Natsu? Be sad and pissed and confused because the world fucked you over like this? You don’t have to be happy all the time, or pretend to be. Everyone would understand.” 

“But it’s not that bad…” he tried to argue between sobs. “I’m not dying, and neither is anyone else. And really, it ain’t nothing compared to what you and Levy and Erza and Loke and everyone else has gone through.” 

Gray’s grip on his shoulders tightened. “Just because someone else’s life sucks doesn’t mean yours doesn’t.” 

“I know but—” 

Gray growled. “Stop making excuses, dumbass. I’m really not good at this kind of thing and the more you argue the more bullshit answers you’re gonna get.” 

So Natsu stopped talking, and just let his best friend hold him as he cried. 

* * *

The face in the mirror that stared back at her was just unfamiliar enough that her mind didn’t want to process it as  _ hers.  _

_ Her _ face didn’t have a giant line of scar tissue running across it. Just like her wrists weren’t scarred and stiff and ache-y (and probably always would be). Just like her leg didn’t have a limp, and worked just like it was supposed to. 

Porlyusica had done her best, but… magic could heal, not  _ erase.  _

However, Levy knew she would learn to live with it. What she didn’t think she would ever be able to get used to were the looks of pity from the other guild members. She could only hope those would vanish with time. 

She shuffled over to the bar and sat at her usual seat. “Hey Mira, can I have a beer, or did Cana already drink it all?” 

Mirajane smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Cana’s actually not been in this morning.” She pulled a glass out from under the bar and went to fill it up. 

“Oh, I wonder if she went on a job,” Levy mused. If so, that would be good. Most of the members had been too busy recovering and rebuilding Magnolia to go on requests. They needed to start handling them before they piled up. 

Mirajane set the glass down in front of her. “I thought Porlyusica gave you a brace to help with your leg?” 

Levy sighed and looked down into the booze. She usually didn’t drink, but… the past few days had been rough. “Yeah… but it just… It’s stiff and bulky, and it makes it more obvious to everyone else that I’m not  _ okay.” _

“That’s not a good reason, Levy,” Mirajane argued as she leaned on the bar. “If you use it enough, maybe eventually the limp will go away. At least if you stay away from strenuous activity.” 

She didn’t reply and began sipping at the beer. She knew the limp wasn’t going to go away. Might get better, over time, but it would never  _ disappear _ . 

Porlyusica had described the way her leg had been shattered, broken into so many pieces that if she hadn’t had access to magical healers, she might have lost it. When asked how it had happened, she hadn’t been able to force herself to describe it. The iron that smashed into her leg when she’d managed to squirm away for just a second and run. 

That was when she’d finally blacked out. 

She shuddered, and shoved the memories away. She wondered if she’d ever be able to forget them. Forget the way that man’s iron claws dug into her arms, the way he’d  _ muzzled _ her, like an animal. 

She’d been unconscious when he spiked her to the wall, and she would never be thankful enough for that. 

Mirajane eyed her, worried. “You know… the Master is supposed to be back soon.” 

Levy swallowed more beer. “Why do you think I’m drinking?” 

“You don’t have to do this. No one would blame you. Just say the word, and this guy’s dead. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve hidden a body,” she said. 

She tapped her fingers against the cup. “No. I… I need to face him. I don’t want my only memory of him to be…  _ that. _ I’m tired of seeing it in my dreams. Besides… I could see it in his eyes. I don’t think he wanted to do that. And Natsu told us that as well.” Her grip tightened. She  _ refused _ to live her life terrified of this man. 

And she hated him. She didn’t think she would ever forgive him or allow him to  _ actually _ be a part of her life, whether he wanted to do that to her or not. Just because she felt sympathy for him didn’t mean she liked him. 

But this man had been in a bad situation, was protecting another woman, and was Natsu’s  _ brother. _ He deserved the chance Fairy Tail could give him, even if he didn’t deserve her. 

* * *

Wendy stared at the guildhall door, waiting. 

They all knew Master Makarov was bringing Gajeel and another Phantom Lord member, Juvia, to join Fairy Tail, so they were all anxiously awaiting their arrival. 

But none more so than Wendy. 

Sure, her and Gajeel had  _ technically _ already met, but she didn’t want to count that fight.  _ This _ was her true reunion with her eldest brother. 

Natsu stood next to her, and while he understood why Gajeel had done what he had, he certainly hadn’t forgive him, and he was already making that  _ very _ clear. His arms were crossed over his chest, teeth bared, and a quiet snarl had been rumbling from his chest for the past half hour, at least. Not to mention his pupils were slits, and they’d only done that during fights. 

(Wendy supposed they could have just permanently changed now, but she didn’t want to think about that). 

She just hoped he didn’t act on his anger. At least, not as soon as they walked through the door. She was fine if he confronted Gajeel privately later. In fact, both of them probably needed that. 

Finally,  _ finally, _ the doors opened, and Makarov entered, followed by a woman with blue hair and big blue eyes, and—

“Gajeel!” she exclaimed, running forward and launching herself into his arms. 

He let out a little grunt of surprise, but caught her. She immediately began rubbing her chin and cheeks on his chest and shoulders. It’d been so long since they’d smelled like each other, like a family was supposed to. 

She glanced up when he didn’t do the same thing, concerned and a little hurt, but then she saw the sorry state of his face. She gasped, and reached out to touch it, but drew her hand back when she realized how much that would probably hurt. 

She’d known it would be bad, but… had Natsu really hurt him that much? 

Before she could comment, he squeezed her tighter, and took in a deep breath of her scent. “Damn, when did you get so big, brat?” He put her down and smiled. 

“When did  _ I _ get so big?” she demanded. “You got  _ huge!”  _ Then she poked at the piercings in his arms. “And what are these? Mom would kill you!” 

He laughed. “Your mom, ain’t mine.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him.  _ All _ the dragons were  _ all _ their parents, and he knew that. 

The Master and Juvia had ventured further into the guildhall where he introduced her to Mirajane and several other members. 

Leaving just her, Gajeel… and Natsu. 

Gajeel turned his attention to their brother. “Natsu—” 

Natsu cut him off with a snarl. “I understand why you did it, Gajeel. But if you ever hurt another guild member again, I’ll kill you.” He turned on his heel and went to join Erza and Gray at their usual table. 

Gajeel’s gaze hardened, but he didn’t go after him. 

“He… He’s having a very hard time right now,” Wendy said, grabbing Gajeel’s hand and forcing his attention back to her. “Please don’t think that he’s… He’s not this angry all the time, and he doesn’t like hurting people. He hasn’t changed, okay? He really, really hasn’t.” 

She wasn’t sure if the words were meant for Gajeel, or for her. 

“Come on,” she said before he could reply. “Let’s start working on getting your face fixed up. Miss Porlyusica left plenty of healing potions the last time she was here because she was tired of getting bothered so often.” She led him to the infirmary, which was thankfully empty of glaring guild members. 

He frowned as she sat him on one of the beds and began looking through the cabinets for what she needed. “Did you stop practicing healing magic?” 

She froze, biting her lip. She glanced back at him, looking at the fangs and the scales on his neck that she had pretended not to notice. “No… but… I think you should speak to Natsu about that, or Miss Le—Maybe not miss Levy.” 

Gajeel shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I don’t think either one of them really want to talk with me.” 

Wendy sighed. “You’re probably right about Miss Levy. But Natsu  _ does _ want to talk to you. Like I said earlier, he’s having a rough time right now.” She grabbed a wet washcloth and began dabbing at the wound on his face. 

He growled, and it sounded  _ so _ similar to Natsu. 

“Sorry,” she said. “But I really need to be sure that it’s clean before I bandage it.” After his face was done, she moved on to his wrists. 

“Have you two really been okay?” Gajeel asked after a few moments of silence. 

Wendy smiled. “Fairy Tail is amazing. I’m so glad I’ve been able to be a part of it.” She grabbed the wad of bandages and began wrapping his wrists. “They’ve become my family.” 

She thought Gajeel might have flinched, but it was so subtle she couldn’t be sure. “Of course you’re my family, too!” she added hastily. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“It’s okay,” he grunted. “You don’t have to lie. I ain’t been around most of your life, and you don’t know me anymore.” 

“That’s really not what I meant,” she insisted. Gajeel  _ was _ her brother, and would always be her brother, even after being separated for so long and changing so much. Sure, he might not be the…  _ best _ person right now, but she was sure Fairy Tail would help him get back on the right track! 

He didn’t answer, and remained silent until she had finished bandaging all his wounds. She handed him two bottles. “Drink these. One is a painkiller, the other is a healing potion. It will take a few days to work completely, but it will heal the wound  _ a lot _ quicker than if you let it heal naturally.” 

He downed both the bottles then ruffled her hair. “Thanks, brat. I should probably go talk to that old man about my papers and that kind of thing.” He stood up with a groan and gave her a smirk. “See ya around.” 

She clasped her hands together. “Please talk to Natsu soon.” 

He grunted, but at least he didn’t say no. 

* * *

Erza rubbed Natsu’s head as he laid on the table, napping. Heaven knew how he’d fallen asleep so fast, and in the middle of two former enemies joining their guild, but well… Natsu had always been very good at sleeping. “He cried?” she asked. 

Gray nodded. 

She glanced down at him. It’d been a  _ long _ time since she’d seen Natsu cry. He was as bad as her and Gray were about it. “We shouldn’t have let him go that long without making him talk about it,” she said. 

He shrugged. “He probably wouldn’t have, even if we tried to force him to. I think the only reason he did with me was because I found him in mid-mental breakdown.” 

He was probably right. 

Gray leaned across the table. “Hey, is it just me, or has that new wizard been looking at me a lot? The girl?” 

Erza’s eyebrows scrunched together, but she glanced over at the bar, where the woman in question was listening to Mirajane and Levy chat. But she was  _ definitely _ looking in their direction. As soon as she noticed Erza’s gaze, she snapped her attention back to Mirajane and Levy with a small squeak. 

“It’s probably because you’re the one who fought her,” she said. 

Gray frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Maybe…” 

* * *

_ “No, no, no, no, no!” Zeref fell next to Natsu’s writhing body.  _

_ He didn’t know what happened. He’d just opened that book… the one that was  _ his, _ and then this horrible pain had started. He couldn’t even scream, since his voice still didn’t work most of the time.  _

_ Zeref grabbed the book on the floor next to him and slammed it shut, but the pain still didn’t go away. “You can’t become an Etherious! Not really! Natsu, you have to fight it!” He tossed the book aside and grabbed his shoulders. “I just changed you enough to bring you back, you can fight it off! Stay human!”  _

_ Natsu began to pant as his body grew hotter and hotter. His head and back felt like they were  _ splitting open!  _ Something warm and wet dripped down his face.  _

_ “NO!” Zeref picked Natsu up and ran him to his lab. The place he had come from…  _

_ He laid him down on a table and ran off again. Natsu rolled onto his stomach as he coughed, worried he might throw up.  _

_ He caught his reflection in the metal table, and his eyes widened. Curled, rust-red horns were forcing their way out of his head, just behind his ears. Blood dripped down his ears and jaw, leaking from the cracks in his skull that the horns had created.  _

_ He didn’t think he was supposed to have horns, but he wasn’t sure. He tried calling for Zeref, but his voice was still gone.  _

_ His mind began to go dark, like it did when he slept, except this dark was  _ hot _ . He didn’t think that was right, but just didn’t have the energy to fight it, so he let it take him.  _

“Natsu, no!” 

_ Natsu left.  _

* * *

Juvia was just thinking about how sweet and kind both these ladies were, when a horrible noise filled the guild hall. It was some mix between a scream and roar. 

Her head snapped towards the noise, where she saw the dragon slayer, Gajeel’s  _ brother _ , being pinned down by the Fullbuster man and a woman with red hair. He screeched and clawed at them. With every horrible noise, more and more smoke came from his mouth, leading to the guildhall smelling awful. 

“Natsu! Wake up!” the redhead shouted, shaking him. 

He finally managed to speak, but his voice was distorted, and wrong, almost like a slayer’s normal snarl, but… not quite. “ _ Zeref.”  _

Chills snaked down Juvia’s spine. Zeref? Why was he screaming about  _ Zeref?  _

Natsu continued to fight, thrashing, kicking, clawing, biting.  _ “I need to get to Zeref. I need to kill Zeref!”  _

Juvia scrambled off the barstool so quickly it fell to the floor with a crash, but the guildhall was already in chaos so no one noticed. 

There was only one thing that would scream for Zeref with that much intensity. 

But that was impossible. Natsu couldn’t be an Etherious. Gajeel had  _ grown up  _ with him. From what Juvia had heard, he was a good person, and  _ human. _

It didn’t make sense. 

The redhead slapped him across the face, and  _ finally _ he went limp and quiet, before snapping back up. “What the hell was that for, Erza?” he demanded, rubbing his cheek. 

Though the guildhall relaxed, Juvia still stood rigid. 

Just what was Natsu Dragneel? 

* * *

“Just like I’ve told you before, I don’t remember them,” he said. 

Erza felt like strangling Natsu. How the  _ hell _ could he  _ not _ remember a nightmare that had made him react so strongly? 

“Come on, man. You’ve got to remember something. Who’s this Zeref person?” Gray asked, leaning across the table. “That’s the second time now you’ve shouted about them.” 

Natsu shrugged. “I told you. I have no idea.” 

“Natsu…” Erza pinched the bridge of her nose. “You wanted to  _ kill _ them. If we hadn’t held you down, god knows what you would have done to yourself or someone else. There’s no way these can just be nightmares.” 

He glanced down at the table, clueless smile fading. “I’m sorry, Erza. Really. I wish I knew. Whatever they are… I think they’ve been getting worse.” 

Gray snorted. “No shit.” 

Natsu glared at him. 

Erza sighed and fell back into her seat. “Well, I guess we’ll add it to the list of things to deal with.” 

* * *

“You ain’t screamed like that during a nightmare since you were eight years old.” 

Natsu whirled around, and Gajeel decided that creeping up on him downwind had been a good idea. He probably never would have gotten close enough otherwise. 

“Shut up, Gajeel,” he growled. “And don’t sneak up on me like that, or I’ll make the other half of your face match.” 

He huffed. He wanted to believe Wendy, but this  _ definitely _ wasn’t the Natsu he remembered. He’d seen a few glimpses, but that was it. “I just want to talk. I’m not expectin’ you to forgive me.” 

Natsu narrowed his eyes, but sat on a bench and jerked his head, indicating Gajeel could sit next to him. 

He frowned and wrinkled his nose. Had the scent of smoke and fire on his brother intensified in the days since their fight? 

“What do you want?” Natsu asked. 

“Really, I don’t know,” he said. “Like I said, I don’t expect you to forgive me, and if you don’t forgive me, you won’t want to be around me. That’s fair.” He shrugged. “If you ever wanted to talk, I was gonna let you find me. But Wendy insisted I come talk to ya.” 

Natsu sighed and sagged his shoulders. “She tell you what we should talk about?” 

He shook his head. “Not really, but she said I should talk to you about why she couldn’t use her healing magic. The Master guy said somethin’ similar.” 

He huffed. “Of course everyone left this to me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You got scales on your neck. That’s what those are, right? And fangs?” 

Gajeel’s eyebrows pinched together. “Yeah? You got some shit like that, too, though. Figured it was a dragon slayer thing the past few days.” 

Natsu growled, and it was definitely a lot more guttural than it had been when they were kids. “Yeah, it is. Look man, dragon slayer magic turns the person who uses it into a dragon. We’re turnin’ into dragons. The process hasn’t started for Wendy yet, so if she doesn’t use her magic anymore, she won’t.” 

“Shit.” Gajeel slapped his hand over the scales. “Seriously?” 

He nodded. “Guild’s trying to fix it, but…” 

Gajeel sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.  _ So there’s not a way to stop it.  _ He couldn’t help but smirk.  _ ‘Course that’d be our luck.  _

“It’s why Wendy was so mad at me for using magic to fight you,” he said. “Using it speeds it up.” 

“So Wendy will be fine?” he asked. 

“Yeah.” 

Gajeel nodded. “Good. That’s all that matters.” 

Natsu sniffed. “Yeah… you’re right…” 

Then he frowned. “Sting and Rogue?” 

Natsu shrugged. “They’re Wendy’s age, so I doubt it’s started for them yet, but… it’s not like we can warn them about it.” 

“So you don’t know where they are either?” Gajeel hadn’t let himself hope, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Natsu and Wendy had ever found Sting and Rogue. 

Natsu shook his head. 

Gajeel slapped Natsu’s shoulder and stood back up. “Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I’ll see you around.” 

He glared at him. “Wouldn’t count on it.” 

Gajeel tried not to let the hurt show on his face. 

* * *

Levy was on her way to the library when she bumped into him. Literally. She rounded a corner and slammed into his chest. She stumbled backwards, putting too much weight on her bad leg, and nearly collapsed onto the pavement. 

He grabbed the collar of her dress and lifted her back up with ease. “Sorry about tha—” The words died in his mouth as soon as they saw each other’s faces. 

Levy was staring at Gajeel Redfox. And… She frowned. He’d been  _ crying. _ His eyes were red and puffy, and tear tracks lined his cheeks. 

What could have  _ possibly _ made this man cry? 

“What’s wrong?” she asked before she could stop herself. She didn’t  _ care _ why he was upset. He _should_ be upset! He’d hurt her! Permanently! 

“Nothing.” He glanced away, obviously not wanting to meet her eyes. 

“Well okay then.” She turned to go around him. 

“Hey!” he said. “I, uh…” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “If you ever need help trying to help Natsu with his issue… Let me know.” 

She almost turned him down then and there, but for some reason… she didn’t. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *tosses Juvia and Gajeel headlong into all of Fairy Tail's issues* Have fun guys
> 
> Also this fic is beginning to have so many moving parts that chances are chapters are either going to get shorter with only one or two POVs or get longer to expand more on things. I personally prefer doing longer chapters, but tell me what you guys would prefer


	10. The Demon of Fairy Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy, Loke, and Cana head back to the guild, Gray meets with Porlyusica, Mirajane confirms a startling discovery, and Levy ends up with a new study buddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I write a cute scene, I have to write one that is just very upsetting and that's how it is

“Daaaaaaaamn,” Cana sang. “Your dad’s a bitch!” 

“Yeah!” Loke slung his arm over Cana’s shoulders. “Let’s beat him up. You wanna beat him up, Cana?” 

She giggled. “Yeah! We could take him! Dontcha think, Lucy? We could totally win a fight against your dad.” 

Lucy groaned. She thought they were  _ joking _ when they said they would hang out in the wine cellar while she talked with her dad, but evidently not. 

She still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the pair. They were certainly interesting.

She also wasn’t really sure what to do with the fact that they were both very clearly into her. And each other. 

Yeah, she really had no idea how to figure them out. It also didn’t help that they were basically the only friends she’d made in the guild. At least, she assumed they were friends. They  _ had _ followed her to her father’s after all, even if they had then proceeded to get absolutely wasted. 

They dangled off each others’ shoulders and sang songs horribly off key the entire way to the train station. Lucy began to suspect they did it to be annoying, and act like the world’s most stereotypical drunks. 

She ushered them onto the train and sat them down. “Could you two  _ be _ any more embarrassing?” she demanded. 

Loke giggled. “Yeah…” 

She groaned and flopped against the back of the seat. Just how much had they  _ drank? _

Cana had already passed out, after sitting still for about a minute. She’d slumped against Loke, head in his lap. 

Though she would deny it, a little twinge of jealousy flickered to life in her chest. She’d been noticing it more and more recently, but Cana was  _ hot, _ and yeah, she was obviously into Lucy too, but… 

Well, she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about her relationship with Loke. Sure, they  _ said _ it wasn’t a thing anymore, but… it really didn’t look like that, and Lucy wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She knew people could have multiple partners, and while it didn’t bother her, she’d never really considered being in a relationship like that before. 

Besides, Cana and Loke had a history, and knew each other a lot better than she knew them. She really didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever they had going on and make it even messier. 

_ Yeah, _ she decided.  _ We can be friends. But that’s  _ it. 

Loke leaned over Cana, falling asleep as well. And  _ damn, _ he was cute too. 

Lucy bit back a groan. Maybe this would be harder than she thought. 

* * *

“That’s an unusual tattoo. Where did you get it?” 

Gray jumped, then scolded himself for not noticing the weird water wizard’s approach. “I’m sorry, what?” 

She pointed to his hand, the one covered in the black and white markings. 

He yanked it off the table and held it to his chest. “No, it’s… It’s not a tattoo.” Then he felt like slamming his head against the table. He should have just said it was a tattoo. That would actually be a pretty good cover story. 

“Oh.” She leaned against the table. “If you don’t mind me asking, if it’s not a tattoo, what is it?” 

Gray rubbed at the white bands, a nervous habit he’d picked up since they had appeared. “I, uh… Um…” 

“Oh.” Her eyes widened and she hid her reddening cheeks behind her hands. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to put you on the spot. You don’t have to tell me!” 

Gray’s eyebrows scrunched together. Why was this woman so  _ weird?  _ Also, why did he feel bad about embarrassing her, even though he really hadn’t done anything? “No. No. It’s not that. It’s just… I myself don’t really know what it is.” He shrugged. 

“Oh…” She let her hands fall back to her sides. “You don’t?” 

He shook his head. “Showed up a couple weeks ago.” 

“Well.” She patted his shoulder. “I hope you figure it out.” She glanced at him once more as she walked off, an almost sad look in her eyes, before making her way to the bar to chat with Mirajane. 

“Thank you?” he muttered, though she was too far away to hear him, by that point. 

Erza slid into the booth next to him. “Juvia seems to like you.” 

He grunted. “Is that her name?” 

She nodded. “Yes. She moved into Fairy Hills, so I spoke with her some last night. She’s… a little awkward and odd, but I think she’s a good person.” 

Gray sniffed. Hell yeah, she was a little  _ awkward. _ Then again, it wasn’t like he had been any  _ less _ awkward either. “She asked about my marking. She thought it was a tattoo.” 

Erza hummed, then grinned and elbowed him. “She’s hot, don’t you think? Maybe she likes you. It’s about time you got a girlfriend.” 

Gray gave her a look. “I don’t think one conversation is enough to warrant that conclusion. And if I really wanted to date someone, I think I could find someone pretty easily.” He smirked. “I mean, if  _ you _ can land Mirajane, I’m pretty sure I could get any guildmate I wanted.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Is this your extremely subtle way of saying you’re more attractive than me, and that Mira is out of my league?” 

He shrugged. “Maybe.” 

She smiled towards Mirajane. “You might be right.” Then she glared at him. “About  _ one _ of your points.” 

He laughed. “Well, at least we’ll always be more attractive than Natsu.” 

Erza began laughing as well. “Yeah, true.” She shook her head. “Although, if he grew his hair out again, like he did when he was what, fourteen, fifteen? He might give you a run for your money.” 

“Eh, maybe,” he admitted. Natsu had finally cut it about a year or two ago, and yeah, Gray could admit that longer hair made Natsu about five times more attractive. 

Erza smiled fondly. “Really though, invite Juvia on a job sometime, even one with us if you don’t want to go alone. She seems like a sweet girl, and even if you’re not interested, she needs more friends than just that brute Gajeel.” 

“Yeah, I’ll think about it,” he said. As weird as she was, Erza was right. Juvia didn’t seem like a bad person. He forced himself up. “I’m meeting with Porlyusica today, so I’ll see you later, okay, Erza?” 

Her smile vanished. “Okay. I hope you figure something out.” 

He sighed. “Yeah, hopefully.” 

* * *

“It’s gotten to the point that your damn guild is knocking on my door every day,” Porlyusica grumbled as she opened the door. 

Gray offered her a wry smile. “Sorry about that, ma’am. But you know how we are.” He stepped into her cottage. God, he hadn’t actually been inside since he was kid and first joined the guild. 

The healer pointed to a table. “Sit there. Is this just about the marking, or have you been experiencing other symptoms?” 

He sat down and leaned over the table. “Well, technically, I think? It all has to do with my hand. If I use my magic, it hurts, really bad. And sometimes it makes the markings spread faster.” 

Porlyusica hummed and began going through one of her cabinets. “It is still spreading?” 

He nodded. “Yeah. Not very fast though.” It’d only moved up his arm about an inch since the Deliora incident, but yeah, still spreading. 

“Okay.” The healer moved over to the table and grabbed Gray’s hand. She traced the white markings. “Based on what you told me about how it reacted so strongly to Deliora, I believe that the mark is demonic in origin.” 

Gray jerked backwards, earning him a glare from Porlyusica.  _ “Demonic?”  _ he demanded. 

She hummed, and grabbed his hand back. “It’s similar to some old demonic markings I’ve seen in ancient texts, and like I said, most likely what caused it to spread so quickly was a reaction to Deliora’s power.” 

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” he protested, trying to stand up, but she shoved him back down. “Where did it even  _ come _ from?” 

She sighed. “That’s what I need to figure out. If you were somehow cursed by something, or if it’s always been a part of you.” 

Gray’s eyes widened. “Always been—No! There’s no way! How would that even be  _ possible?”  _

She whacked the back of his head. “If you’re going to get this loud and irritating every time I say something, I’m going to stop talking. And yes, Gray, it  _ is _ possible. There are humans infected with demonic attributes, via curses and dark magic. You may have inherited it from a parent, or were somehow affected as a very young child.” 

“But I’m not a demon!” he shouted. 

Porlyusica groaned and finally let go of his hand to go through a cabinet again. “Did I say you were? I said you were  _ infected. _ There is a difference.” She pulled out a potion and set it down in front of him. “This is a purifying draught. If that mark is because of any demonic infection or curse, that should get rid of it.” 

Gray eyed the potion. “And if it’s not?” 

“Just drink it, Gray. If it’s not demonic, then we’ll figure something else out. The only reason the draught would do anything bad would be if a demonic aspect was an inseparable part of you, which I highly doubt. You would literally have to have demonic blood in you,” she said. 

He grabbed the bottle. “Well, okay.” He downed it in a single gulp. 

After a few moments of nothing happening, he said, “I don’t think that was it—” His words were cut off with a gasp. A horrible burning feeling spread through his chest. He gasped for air as it felt like his throat closed up. He coughed and clawed at his throat. 

“Gray!” Porlyusica rushed over. 

Blood splattered across the table as he hacked it up. It was followed by a thick, nearly black liquid dripping from the corners of his mouth, eyes, and nose. His hand began to burn, like when he used his magic, and he could  _ feel _ the marking spreading, even if he couldn’t see it as his vision blurred. 

Somehow he ended up on the floor, writhing, gasping, and coughing as Porlyusica did her best to hold him down, but she was nowhere near strong enough to keep him still. He coughed up more blood and whatever that black liquid was, before finally collapsing. 

* * *

Mirajane had never been summoned by Porlyusica before, but as soon as she had been, she grabbed the Master, and they rushed over. 

What could have possibly happened that was bad enough for Porlyusica to  _ summon _ them? 

She slammed open the door to her cottage, and was greeted by a disgusting scene. Blood and… some other menacing black liquid were splattered everywhere. The table and a chair were turned over, with a small pile of shattered glass next to them. 

“Porlyusica?” Makarov called. 

The healer stepped out of a room off to the side. Blood and the black liquid covered her clothes. “Ah, Makarov, Mirajane. We have some things to discuss regarding Gray.” 

_ Oh right,  _ Mirajane remembered.  _ He was meeting with her today about that marking. _

“Is he okay?” Makarov asked. 

Porlyusica grimaced. “It depends on how you define the word.” She motioned for them to follow her. 

She led them into a little spare room, containing only a small, rickety bed, on which Gray laid. His shirt was covered in blood, and his face was stained with black lines, dripping from his eyes and nose. The marking on his arm had spread again, disappearing beneath his shirt sleeve. Mirajane wondered how far it had gone this time. 

“What happened?” Makarov demanded as he rushed over to check on Gray.

The healer’s frown deepened. “I have a theory, but I’d like to be sure it’s true before I bring it up. Mirajane, please touch him and tell me what you feel.” 

A dark pit formed in her gut as she approached Gray’s unconscious form. Maybe she shouldn’t have ignored that demonic feeling… 

She laid her hand on Gray’s forehead. Her magic began tugging, and she jerked backwards with a gasp. 

Takeover magic worked the best if she killed the original creature, but even if the being was still alive, it tried to absorb their essence. 

Takeover magic did not try to absorb humans. In fact, hers was specialized to only take on demonic forms. 

“Mirajane?” Makarov asked. “What’s wrong?” 

“He…” She covered her mouth with her hands. “He’s a demon…” 

Porlyusica nodded. “I suspected the mark was demonic in origin, likely the result of a curse, or something similar, so I gave him a purifying draught.” Her frown deepened. “But his body rejected it, and did everything it could to dispel the draught. It nearly killed him.”

“But how is that even possible?” Makarov asked, staring at Gray. “He came to the guild as a  _ child, _ we’ve watched him grow and develop. He is a  _ human.”  _

The healer sighed. “Yes, he is a human. He is somehow both, and that is what I do not understand. A hybrid of this kind should not be possible, and I’m also confused as to how this went unnoticed for so long,  _ and _ how he didn’t know.” 

Makarov let out a weary sigh. “What exactly does this mean? For him?” 

“I do not know. I’m a healer, not an expert on demons and demonic creatures,” Porlyusica said. “You’ll have to find someone much more knowledgeable on the subject than me. There’s nothing I can do for him. He’s lucky the draught didn’t kill him.” 

“Yes…” Makarov said, as he ran a hand through Gray’s hair. “Thank you, Porlyusica. We’ll take him back to the guildhall now.” 

* * *

“So one of my best friends is turning into a dragon… and the other a demon?” Erza put her head in her hands. It took everything in her to keep from crying. 

“Well, actually, we think he’s always been a demon, and it’s just now becoming dominant,” Mirajane said as she rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wish there was more I could do.” 

As soon as the Master and Mirajane had brought Gray back to the guildhall, Erza panicked. How could she not? He was limp, unconscious or dead, and covered in blood. It had taken several moments to console her and assure her that he would be okay. 

She didn’t know why she had reacted so strongly… But the past few weeks had been very stressful. 

She’d scrubbed the blood and black substance from his skin, then ripped his shirt off to see just how far the mark had spread. Now, it covered his whole arm and most of his shoulder, and didn’t look like it had any plans of stopping any time soon. It was coming dangerously close to covering his guild mark. Was it going to completely cover it? 

The infirmary door slammed open. “Where is he?” Natsu demanded, before dashing to Gray’s bedside before anyone could answer. He grabbed his shoulders and began shaking him. “What did you do, you idiot?” 

“Natsu! Natsu! He’s fine!” Mirajane said, shooting to her feet. “Did the master tell you what happened?” 

“Yeah!” he snapped, finally letting go of Gray. “Dumbass is becoming a demon! He had to have done something! I didn’t just  _ randomly _ start becoming a dragon!” 

Erza couldn’t really explain why, but she burst into tears. No matter what she did, how she tried to help her friends, they just kept ending up even worse off. 

“Oh, Erza…” Mirajane pulled her close. 

She sobbed into her chest. Why couldn’t she help them? She couldn’t do a  _ damn thing. _

Before she knew it, Natsu had latched onto her. “Erza? Please don’t cry. Please. Was it because of me? Did I make you cry?” 

Mirajane let go of her, realizing that this was more between Erza and Natsu. 

“No…” she said. “No, Natsu. I just…” 

“Please don’t cry,” he repeated, snuggling into her chest. “Please. I can’t stand it when you cry.” 

She tried to blink back her tears. “I’m sorry. I just… I don’t like seeing you two hurting like this.” 

“No, don’t say sorry,” he murmured, still hugging her. “I just wish I could make you feel better.” 

She sighed. She just wanted them to be safe. Why was that so hard? 

* * *

“Okay,” Levy said, cracking open another giant book. “No cure exists for dragonification. So that means we have to discover one, not  _ find _ one.” She flipped through the pages. “Shouldn’t be too difficult. But I will need to find some experts on dragons.” She wished these books weren’t so damn  _ old. _ It definitely made this a lot harder. 

“An expert on dragons? You could ask Gajeel.” 

Levy dropped her pencil with a squeak. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Juvia leaned across the table. “I came to the library to find a nice book to read, since I can’t go on jobs without another member, and I heard you talking to yourself, and well… you could ask my friend, Gajeel. He knows a lot about dragons.” 

“Oh, Juvia…” Levy felt her shoulders relax. Damn, this girl was good at sneaking up on people. “And uh… Thank you, but I think… I’ll figure it out on my own.” The  _ last _ thing she wanted to do was ask Gajeel for help. 

Juvia’s eyes widened. “Oh, oh  _ no. _ I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean—” 

“It’s okay,” Levy assured her. “You didn’t mean anything by it, and you were trying to help. And maybe someday I will try that… but not right now.”

“I understand. Gajeel… He… is not the best, right now…” Juvia said, looking down. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need information about dragons? Could you ask Mr. Dragneel? He is a dragon slayer, is he not?” 

Levy bit her lip. “Ah, actually this is a project to help Natsu, so he won’t know.” 

“Oh.” Juvia sat down next to her. “Well, like I said, I am stuck in Magnolia until someone asks for my help on a job, so I can at least help you read through these. What exactly are you looking for?” 

Levy glanced at Juvia. She really hadn’t expected the ex-Phantom Lord wizard to be this kind. She’d been following Mirajane, and by extension, Levy, around for the past few days. Evidently she was a fairly shy girl, and yes, she was a little… odd, but not the hardened criminal Levy had been expecting. 

“Okay.” She handed Juvia a book. “Here’s the situation.” 

* * *

Wendy had been right. It had taken a few days, but the healing potion took care of his wrists and face, leaving behind some atrocious scarring. He was gonna have to pay Natsu back someday. 

“I’ve been helping Levy with research,” Juvia said. “She’s a very sweet girl.” 

Gajeel glanced at her. What was he supposed to do with that? Feel guilty? Because he already did. He felt guilty about  _ a lot _ of things. 

“She’s looking for a cure to the draconic transformation.” She glared at him. “Which you didn’t  _ tell _ me about.” 

He grunted. “It’s not a big deal.” 

She slapped his shoulder a few times. “It is too!” 

“Whatever.” He stared down at his plate of food. 

Juvia sighed. “Has anyone invited you on a job request yet?” She poked at her own plate of food. 

He shook his head. Not that he expected to be invited on one anytime soon. Which really sucked, considering they had to accompany another guild member on requests at least five times before they were allowed out on requests alone. He understood why, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating. 

“Me either…” It seemed to upset her, and Gajeel really didn’t understand why no one had invited her yet. She hadn’t hurt one of their members, not like he had, anyway. And she was kind, and sweet, and hardworking, and didn’t look like she had just climbed out of Hell… 

“I’m sure someone will invite you soon,” he grunted. 

Her shoulders slumped. “I hope so.” 

* * *

Gray awoke to a splitting headache. He groaned and forced himself up, a hand pressed to his head. “What happened…” He remembered taking Porlyusica’s draught and then… pain. 

So much  _ pain.  _

“Ah, Gray. I’m glad to see you’re awake,” Master Makarov said from his bedside. 

“Master?” he forced out. “What’s going on? How did I get back to the guildhall?” 

The Master frowned. “Gray, Porlyusica discovered what caused the mark on your arm. Do you remember?” 

He nodded. Something demonic. It would be hard to forget that. He glanced down at his arm, and his heart sank when he saw that the marking had spread again. So whatever Porlyusica had given him hadn’t worked, and he got the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t supposed to cause him to react in that way. 

Makarov took a deep breath. “Son… You are, at least partially, a demon.” 

“No…” he whimpered, clutching his hand to his chest. “No, that’s not… that can’t be true. I was cursed, or—or something. I’m not a demon!” 

“Gray—” 

_“I’m not a demon!” _he shouted, curling in on himself. “I’m human! I’m _human!_ _I’m not a demon!” _He wasn’t the same thing that had killed his parents, that had killed Ur. He just _couldn’t_ be.

“Please…” he whispered. “I’m not a demon.” 

* * *

Natsu pretended not to hear as Gray had his humanity torn away from him. He pressed his chin to the table, hands over his head. 

He heard the initial shouts, then the heartbroken wailing as Gray realized he couldn’t deny it. 

Natsu wanted nothing more than to run to his best friend’s side and assure him that it would be okay, but he knew the Master was probably much better equipped to handle this. 

“I’m sorry, Gray,” he muttered. “I’m so sorry.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the next chapter is the official start of the Tower of Heaven arc, and I'm super excited to have a lot more focus on Erza, and finally introduce Jellal


	11. The Tower of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza's relaxing trip does not go as planned, Master Makarov takes quite the odd group to the capital with him, and Loke makes a move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how I said this was gonna start going off the rails? Yeah um, this is when it begins to get just real fuckin weird and really start screwing with canon

“We’re going to relax for a while!” Erza exclaimed. “I think we all need it!” 

Gray and Natsu gave her the most blank looks she had ever seen. 

She forced her smile to get even brighter. “We’ve had a rough couple days, I think it would be nice to go on a little trip, a relaxing one.” 

Gray raised an eyebrow. “So like… a vacation?” 

She shrugged. “Yeah, sure, if you want to call it that. We just need to get away for a few days.” 

“Uh…” Natsu raised his hand. “What about Wendy and Happy?” 

“Well they can come, of course!” Erza said, clapping her hands together. “You know I don’t like you leaving Wendy home alone anyways. And speaking of inviting others, Gray, I think you should invite Juvia.” 

Gray began to protest, but she interrupted him. “Like I said, she needs more friends. Besides, we could act like this is a job request, which will really help her out, since she can’t go on any without other guildmates right now. So please, invite her.” 

Gray frowned and crossed his arms. “Fine.” 

“Good!” 

“Is Mira coming, too?” Natsu asked. 

She shook her head. She was a little let down by Mirajane not coming, but she had important things to work on. “She’s going to the capital with the Master and Levy. They’re tracking down a lead on some dragon information that the Master received from the council.” 

“Oh yeah… they mentioned that,” the dragon slayer muttered. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away. 

“Right. So we’re going to leave tomorrow,” Erza said. “And it’s going to be fun, and relaxing, and calm, and nothing is going to go wrong.” 

* * *

Juvia felt torn. 

She’d heard when the Fullbuster man,  _ Gray, _ had learned he was part demon. Everyone in the guildhall had heard his shouting. 

What broke her heart was that she could  _ explain. _ But… would that really help? Would knowing that his family line was bred from a demon of the books of Zeref be any comfort? Probably not… Not to mention, how would she explain how she even knew such a thing? Would the guild accept her if they knew what her family had done? 

She didn’t know, and she didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it already was, so she kept her mouth shut, despite wanting to help Gray. 

She was very surprised to see him approaching her the next day, even if it was after being nudged over by Erza Scarlet. “Hi,” he grit out,  _ very _ awkwardly. 

She took a small sip of her coffee. “Hello.” She did her best not to look at the markings that had spread so far they disappeared beneath his shirt.

“Um, so… Erza said I should invite you, but… we’re going on a trip? I guess?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not a job request, but it will count towards your probation period thing, so yeah… want to come?” 

Juvia’s face lit up. “You want me to come with you?” 

“Er, yeah?” He shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“Oh, I would love to!” she exclaimed. 

“Great. We’re leaving in a few hours.” He shuffled back over to Erza and Natsu, where the requip mage whacked him upside the head, and hissed, “You weren’t supposed to tell her that inviting her was my idea!” 

She smiled. She finally got invited on a job! Well, not a job, exactly, but she was invited, and that was all that mattered to her. 

* * *

“Ah, Mr. Redfox. How would you like to accompany myself, and two other members on a… well, not a request, though it will count as one of your five,” Makarov said. 

Gajeel eyed the small man, before saying. “Why not? What’s the job? Why you needin’ me?” 

That was certainly easier than Makarov had been expecting. “We’re going to the capital to speak to some experts on dragons, and go through some old texts. You’re one of the few living people that actually has experience with dragons, so you would be a valuable asset.” 

Gajeel grunted and rubbed at the scar on his jaw. “This got somethin’ to do with my brother’s fucked up condition?”

Makarov almost pointed out that Gajeel was in the same situation, but decided that might not be a good idea. “Yes.” 

He grunted. “Okay. When are we leavin’?” 

“Tomorrow.” 

* * *

Relaxation…. Was not really what happened. 

Never mind the fact that she was currently tied up, gagged, and blindfolded, but as soon as they left Magnolia, Gray and Natsu had begun arguing, Charle was mad at Happy for some reason, Wendy was yelling at Natsu for trying to use his powers, and poor Juvia’s anxiety shot through the roof, probably due to all the arguments. 

So really, Erza hadn’t gotten a single moment’s peace, and now she had to deal with being kidnapped. 

_ Kidnapped.  _ She would have scoffed had she not been gagged. It was ridiculous. Titania, Queen of the Fairies, kidnapped! Natsu and Gray were never going to let her live this down. 

To be fair, she hadn’t exactly been on high alert when it had happened.

She assumed she was drugged somehow. Most likely via food or drink. Her head still pounded, and she didn’t sense anything familiar about her surroundings. She wondered how long she had been unconscious. 

What concerned her the most was how little she remembered. 

She remembered getting to the resort, and well… that was it. Which was why she assumed she was drugged. It could be blurring her memory. Of course, a blow to the head could do the same thing, but she didn’t feel that was very likely, considering how strong she, and her group, were. It just didn’t make sense. Not to mention, she was not injured, nor did she feel that slight sense of exhaustion that came with a fight, even a small one. 

As soon as she regained consciousness, she tried breaking free of her bonds, but found that she couldn’t. She couldn’t use her magic either, which meant whoever had captured her had to be using magic dampening cuffs. 

Which was when she began to truly get concerned. Magic dampening cuffs were hard to come by. In fact, Fairy Tail only had four pairs. So this person, or group, or whoever… 

They had planned this, and they had either the money, power, or both, to procure items like that. These people were clearly dangerous. 

She wondered if the others had been captured as well. She hoped not. If they weren’t, perhaps they could find her. Not to mention, Gray, Natsu, and Wendy weren’t supposed to be using their magic. The last thing they needed was to be landed in a situation where they had no choice. 

She jerked again, but it earned her nothing except clattering chains. If she had to guess, she’d say she was chained to a wall, with her wrists above her head. It was cool against her backside, probably made from stone. She felt cuffs around her wrists, waist, and ankles. If she really, really stretched she could get her toes to just barely brush the ground. But it’s not like it mattered, no matter how she was restrained, she clearly was not getting out of here until she was let go or someone saved her. 

Metal screeching echoed through the room, followed by light footsteps. Erza froze, and a few moments later, the blindfold was ripped off her face. 

She wished the person standing before her was one she didn’t recognize. She wished she still had no idea where she was. 

Though he’d grown up, he still looked so similar to the face from her memories. 

_ Jellal?  _

* * *

Wendy was the first one to wake up, and she really wished she hadn’t been. 

Gray was splayed across a table, held down with metal clamps. Trays of medical tools sat on stands, right next to the table. His shirt had been removed, showing the extent of his demonic marking, as well as the large scars on his chest, courtesy of Deliora. Lines had been drawn on his chest, a set of instructions for cutting him open, causing Wendy to shudder. 

Juvia dangled by her wrists from the ceiling. Blood dripped from the cuffs as they dug into her skin. She’d been blindfolded and gagged, so Wendy supposed she could be awake, but her body was so limp, she didn’t think it was likely. 

Shoved against the opposite wall were two little kennels, containing Happy and Charle. 

And finally, pinned against the wall next to herself, was Natsu. His arms and legs were splayed, like he was lying in the snow making a snow angel. His head slumped forward, and a thick, metal muzzle covered the entire lower half of his face. 

It took a few moments, but Wendy realized she was in the same position as him, right down to the muzzle. It clamped her jaws together so tightly they ached. 

Why hadn’t Gray and Juvia been muzzled like her and Natsu? Did the enemy know what they were? About their breath attacks? 

She shook her head. She needed to backtrack and figure out who the enemy  _ was _ before trying to decipher what all they knew. 

She had no memory of ending up… wherever this was. How was that possible? Some type of memory altering magic? Did that exist? 

She began to thrash, and make as much noise as she could. Of course, it was only strangled whines and muffled screams she could get out with the muzzle, but it was better than nothing. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t have the effect she was hoping for. Natsu, Gray, Charle, Happy, and Juvia didn’t so much as stir. 

The door to the dungeon they were in creaked open, and a girl with sandy brown hair and cat ears bounded in. “Oh! The little one is awake!” She skipped forward, patted Wendy’s head, and squealed. “Simon! Sho! You have  _ got _ to see how cute this one is! Oh, if only you were a kitten!” 

Wendy narrowed her eyes and jerked back, leading to her smacking her head against the stone wall. 

A man leaned around to peek through the door. “Milliana! We’re not supposed to be in here!” 

The cat girl, Milliana, pouted, ears drooping. “But it’s been so long since we’ve seen outsiders! I want to know what the world is like.” 

Another, smaller man waltzed into the room, grabbed the back of Milliana’s shirt, and tugged her back out of the room. “Leave them be. Besides, she’s muzzled and Jellal said she had to stay that way. She can’t tell you anything.” Then he slammed the door shut again. 

Wendy groaned in frustration. That could have been her chance to learn something! All she’d gotten were some names, and those were pretty much useless at the moment. She still didn’t know where they were or what these people wanted. 

She let out a defeated sigh, and decided to just wait for the others to wake up. They were a lot more experienced than her with this stuff, and would be able to fix it, no problem. 

* * *

_ Cold. Hunger. Pain.  _

_ They were all Erza knew anymore. Ever since these people had burned her little village, and taken the children to this horrible cell, forcing them to work for them.  _

_ Work, and work, and work, and work. If they stopped, they were beat. If they collapsed, they were thrown away.  _

_ Erza didn’t know what happened to the ones who were thrown away, and she didn’t want to know. She just knew that she couldn’t collapse.  _

_ She’d been beaten a few times, but she was strong, so she knew she wouldn’t collapse. Soon, she was working faster than most, and the bad people took a liking to her.  _

_ A sick liking, that led to them watching her closely, taunting her. It wasn’t a good thing. But if she started to slow down, they would beat her. And the more beatings she received, the more likely it was she would collapse and be thrown away.  _

_ After a long day (but they were all long days, so she didn’t know why she called them that), she was tossed back into the cell that she shared with an old man, and several other children. She didn’t know their names, and she wasn’t sure she really wanted to. After all, eventually, they would all be thrown away. Why should she trick herself into caring about them if they were all going to be thrown away?  _

_ But that night, the little boy with blue hair and the funny red marking on his face, approached her little corner. “How come you never talk to us?”  _

_ Erza didn’t answer, and just hugged her knees closer to her chest.  _

_ He poked her. “Come on. We don’t even know what to call you. I’m Jellal Fernandes.”  _

_ She nearly hissed. She didn’t  _ want _ to know his name. Now she would look on in sadness as this little boy was thrown away, knowing that the name ‘Jellal’ was attached to him.  _

_ “Come on.” He continued to poke at her. “At least tell me what to call you. What if we need to get your attention?”  _

_ Her mouth twisted into a grimace. Well, he’d forced her to know him, the least she could do was return the favor, so he could feel remorse when she was thrown away. “Erza.” Her voice was hoarse. She didn’t remember the last time she’d used it. It was before she’d gotten to this place, that was for sure.  _

_ Jellal perked up. “Erza? That’s pretty! Erza what?”  _

_ She glared at him. “What do you  _ mean, _ Erza what? I’m just Erza!”  _

_ The boy’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, she thought she’d been mean enough that he was going to leave her alone. Unfortunately, that was not the case. “But that can’t be right! Everyone has at least two names. You can’t just have one.”  _

_ “Well, I do.” She rested her chin on her knees. She knew people had a second name, one that they shared with their families. But, well… if she didn’t have a family, why did she need a second name?  _

_ He shook his head. “Well then we’ll have to fix that. What about Scarlet? To match your pretty hair?”  _

_ “Stupid!” shouted one of the other children, who had crept closer. “You can’t just  _ give _ someone a name like that!”  _

_ Jellal turned to glare at the boy. “And why not?” he demanded. “That’s what parents do with their kids!”  _

_ “Yeah, but she ain’t your kid, so you can’t do that,” the boy continued to argue.  _

_ Erza interrupted him, finally uncurling from her corner. “I like it. I’ll be Erza Scarlet.”  _

_ Jellal beamed.  _

* * *

Gajeel nearly dipped out of the job the second he arrived at the guildhall that morning, and saw that the small group going to the capital contained Levy McGarden. In fact, he probably would have declined going right at the last moment, had the little blue-haired mage not glared at him and said, “You better not let us down. You’re the only person around who’s actually met a dragon so we need you to fact check.” 

And well, how was he supposed to argue with that? 

* * *

Jellal was lucky she was restrained, otherwise she would have ran her sword through him. He deserved it, for what he’d done! 

He didn’t even have the decency to take off her gag, leaving her to glare at him angrily.

“Erza, it’s been too long.” 

She hardened her glare.  _ Only because you threatened to kill everyone if I returned.  _ But now she knew where she was. 

She was back. Back at the Tower of Heaven. 

“You’ll finally help us complete it.” He ran his hand along her jaw, and chills snaked down her spine. “After all these years.” 

Then he left her alone again. 

* * *

Juvia awoke to restraints wrapped around her. It took only a few seconds to deduce she hung from the ceiling, had cloth wrapped around her eyes, and was in some type of dungeon (working for Phantom Lord meant ending up in a lot of not-so-great situations that left Juvia used to things like this). 

Thankfully, the cuffs they used were not magic dampening, meaning it was easy to turn her wrists to water and slip out of the restraints. She ripped the blindfold and gag off, to be greeted by her new friends in equally as bad situations. 

Wendy let out a muffled squeal and began jerking in her restraints again. 

“Oh! You poor thing!” Juvia said as she rushed over to free the little girl. She really didn’t like that such a small child had been involved in… whatever this was. 

Thankfully the restrains were closed with simple clamps, rather than keys, so Juvia could remove them quite easily. Wendy gasped as she removed the muzzle. “Thank you, Miss Juvia. I was beginning to get worried that you might not wake up. It just seemed like so long…” 

“I am okay, I assure you,” she said. “And I am sure everyone else will be, too. We just have to wake them up.” She undid the cuffs on Wendy’s wrists, legs, and waist. She caught the girl before she tumbled to the floor, and gently set her down. “Why don’t you get the two cats, dear, and I’ll help Natsu and Gray?” 

Wendy nodded and went to open the kennels. 

Juvia tried to undo Natu’s muzzle, but found that unlike Wendy’s restrains, it needed a key. Thankfully the actual restraints didn’t, but beneath the iron cuffs that held him to the wall, was a pair of magic dampening cuffs. Why did Natsu have them, but the rest of them didn’t? 

She did her best not to think about Natsu screaming for Zeref’s demise. Did these people sense some of the same power that she did from him? 

She brushed the thoughts aside. No… It was probably just because Natsu was relatively famous throughout Fiore. It was likely they’d recognized him and decided not to take a risk. 

He tumbled off the wall, and was a lot heavier than Wendy, leaving Juvia struggling to catch him and keep him upright. 

“Just let him hit the ground,” Wendy said, as she clutched Happy and Charle to her chest. “Trust me, he has a thick skull, it won’t hurt him.” 

Juvia did as she was told, and let the dragon slayer collapse, and moved on to Gray. He wasn’t restrained quite as tightly as Natsu had been, but she didn’t like the look of those scalpels. She thanked the universe that she’d woken up before whoever captured them had their way with him. 

But now that they were all untied, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know where they were, how many enemies were lurking about. Really, they couldn’t even leave the room. Perhaps she might have been able to carry just Natsu or Gray, but there was no way in hell she could carry them both. 

And that was when she realized… “Where is Lady Erza?” 

Wendy squeaked, obviously not realizing she wasn’t with them either. 

Juvia bit back a groan. She was used to working alone (or with Gajeel), and this was why. There were so many people she had to keep track of right now. “Okay. Okay. Right now, we need to get at least one of them awake.” She began slapping at Gray’s cheek. Thankfully, it only took a few moments for him to begin stirring. She let out a relieved breath. 

As soon as his eyes cracked open, Juvia grabbed him. “Gray! Thank goodness! We’ve been captured! And we need to get out of here! Help me carry Natsu.”

Gray groaned. “The fuck?” 

She began tugging him off the table. “Hurry up. We must go before someone comes to check on us, since I am basically the only one capable of fighting at the moment.” 

And god, she wasn’t looking forward to that, if it came down to it. 

Wendy pressed against the door, Happy and Charle still dangling from her arms. “We should hurry, I think I can hear someone coming.” 

“Come on!” Juvia finally yanked him off the table, leaving him to fall to the floor with a yelp. She heaved him back up, then rushed the grab Natsu. “Help me!” 

Gray glanced around the room, eyes widening as things finally fell into place regarding their situation. “Shit, fuck, yeah okay.” He moved to grab Natsu, and slung one of his arms over his shoulder. “The hell is on his face?” he demanded, tapping against the metal. 

“A muzzle,” Wendy whispered. “I had one, too, but his won’t come off.” 

Again, Juvia really tried not to think of the implications of that. 

The door opened, and Juvia raised her free arm for an attack, but before she could, Wendy shrieked, dropped the cats, and slammed the door shut. 

Well, not shut. The man’s head was in the way, resulting in his skull slamming against the doorframe, and the door cracking against his head. He slumped to the floor, blood pooling around his head. 

Gray’s jaw dropped. “Wendy, what the  _ hell?”  _

She dropped to her knees, and checked the weird, block-headed man’s pulse. “He’s alive!” 

Gray readjusted Natsu’s limp body. “Again, Wendy, what the  _ hell?” _

She rubbed her upper arm sheepishly. “I just panicked, okay?” She picked up the cats again. “But it’s okay. Let’s go find Miss Erza!” 

Juvia couldn’t help but smile. She found herself really liking this little girl.  _ Maybe her and Gajeel really are siblings after all…  _

* * *

_ “Which one of you brats was the one talking about a rebellion?” the man demanded.  _

_ Erza shoved the other children against the cell wall and stood protectively in front of them.  _

_ Truthfully, they had all been fantasizing about escape, but she wasn’t going to let these children be thrown away like that. Not if she could stop it. But just before she could claim it was her, Jellal stepped forward. “It was me. I wanted to escape.”  _

_ The man’s face twisted. “You sure, little man? That’s what you want?” His gaze turned to Erza. “I know it wasn’t you.”  _

_ Jellal clenched his fists. “Why would you ask if you weren’t gonna believe us?” he demanded. “It was me!”  _

_ “Jellal!” Erza shoved him. “Shut up!”  _

_ The man smirked. “That’s what I thought. It  _ was _ you, wasn’t it, ya little red-head bitch?”  _

_ She nodded. “Yes. It was me.”  _

_ “Erza!” Jellal grabbed for her as she stepped towards the man, but she pushed him back.  _

_ The man lunged forward and grabbed her by her hair. “We’ve been wantin’ ta find an excuse to get rid’a ya for a while now, little bitch. You’d be a mighty fine problem you get any bigger and older.”  _

_ She wanted nothing more than to hit him, but she restrained herself. She was doing this to protect Jellal, and everyone else.  _

_ “Please! It was me!” Jellal pleaded as the man yanked her out of the cell by her hair.  _

_ The door was slammed in his face.  _

_ The man lifted her by her hair, leaving her little feet to dangle uselessly. She let out a gasp as he shook her, like a cat playing with a mouse. “Are you ready to meet the Dark Lord?”  _

* * *

Lucy, Cana, and Loke arrived back at the guildhall to find it weirdly… quiet? 

“Where the hell is everyone?” Cana asked as she waltzed up to the bar. When she noticed that it wasn’t Mirajane serving the drinks, she demanded,  _ “Where the hell is Mirajane?”  _ Mirajane was the only decent bartender in the guild! None of these other bastards knew how to mix drinks! 

Macao sighed from the seat next to her. “Left on a trip to the capital with the Master, Levy, and that Gajeel bastard.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Why?” 

“Going to chase down some information on dragons, for Natsu,” he replied. 

Cana looked over her shoulder, trying to locate the loudmouth in question. “And where the fuck is he?” 

“He left on a trip with his usual posse,” he said. “Plus the new girl.” 

“So  _ everyone’s _ gone?” she demanded. 

Macao glared at her. “No. Just them.” 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Everyone that’s any fun…” she muttered. Then she sighed, cracked her knuckles, and leaped over the bar. “Guess if Mira’s gone I’ll handle things myself.” 

* * *

Yes, Lucy had finally admitted to herself that Cana was hot, and should the opportunity arise, Lucy would not decline having a, ahem, good time with her. 

But this just wasn’t  _ fair!  _

The card mage swaggered around behind the bar, a towel slung over her shoulder, as she mixed and served drinks for fellow guildmates. And damn if it wasn’t attractive. 

She lifted a barrel of booze onto the counter and  _ fuck, _ her  _ biceps.  _

Loke sidled up next to her. “She’s sexy as all fuck, isn’t she?” 

Lucy sputtered and jerked her stare away from Cana to her food. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Okay….” he sang. “But you ever come to grips with your lesbian awakening I can totally tell her to make a move.” 

She dropped her fork. “I’m not a lesbian!” 

Loke raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, whatever you say.” 

“Aahh.” She threw her head back. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that I’m bi, dumbass. I’m not in denial or some shit.” 

He smirked and shifted even closer. “Oh really?” 

Lucy gulped. Maybe she shouldn’t have shared that information. 

But all he did was hold his fist out for a fist bump. “So are me and Cana. Bisexuals unite!” 

“Uh…” Hesitantly, she gave him a fist bump. 

“But seriously though, I’ll tell her you're down, and she won’t beat around the bush,” he said. “She’s just waiting to make sure you’re definitely into her. And if  _ that _ look on your face was anything to go by, I’d say you were.” 

Lucy hummed and rubbed her shoulder. “Well… yes… it’s just… I don’t want to get in the middle of… you two…” 

Loke leaned back. “Ah… I see.” 

She held her hands up. “Not that I mean anything bad by it! You guys have got something, even if you won’t admit it, and I know some people don’t mind open relationships, and neither do I! It’s just—” 

He held his hand up, cutting her off. “No, no, you’re fine, I get it. Cana and I’s relationship is… a little weird, and not a lot of people get it. But listen, I’m not gonna beat around the bush either. I think you’re cute, and if you ever want to be a part of our weird little relationship…” He grinned, hopped off his barstool, and began walking away. “Consider this your official invitation.” 

* * *

Erza began to struggle against her bonds again. Now that Jellal had left, it really began to sink in. 

She was back. 

Back at this wretched place. The place she’d spent her whole life trying to forget. Were they going to put her back in that room? The one that had so changed Jellal? So changed  _ her?  _

That room… where those powers warred over them. The ones that were thrown away… Where  _ she _ was thrown away. 

* * *

_ They hung her from the ceiling, wrapped in chains, like some sick sacrifice.  _

_ It occurred to her too late that that was exactly what she was. A sacrifice to the horrific being this tower was being built for, the one that these fucked up people worshiped.  _

_ They left her in the dark, haunted by whispers. So many whispers.  _

_ She growled. She shouldn’t have gotten close to the other kids. She wouldn’t have been thrown away if she stayed in her corner, kept to herself…  _

_ It didn’t take the dark powers long to attack her, burrow into her.  _ Erza… Erza… Give us your power, Erza. 

_ But they weren’t taking her power. Erza didn’t even  _ have _ power.  _

_ She saw the corpses of the people the bad people threw away. She’d worked in the disposal yards before.  _

_ This place didn’t steal their power. Like her, all these people were  _ powerless.  _ It took their hearts, their minds, their  _ souls.  _ It stole  _ them. 

_ She felt whatever this was digging into her being, cutting away what made her Erza Scarlet.  _

_ She didn’t scream, didn’t fight. Why would she? She had nothing to live for. She would work until she dropped dead, and watched all those other children get thrown away, just like she had been. Why should she try and survive for that?  _

_ “Erza, why don’t you fight?”  _

_ Erza’s head snapped up. That voice… that was not a dark voice. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but something told her it was true.  _

_ “Why should I?” she whispered to the invisible voice in the dark room, letting her head sag again. “I have nothing.”  _

_ “What about the other children? You care for them, do you not?”  _

_ She squeezed her eyes shut. “All the more reason to die. So I don’t have to watch them do the same.”  _

_ This did not seem to deter the voice. “And if you didn’t have to do that? If you could stop it?”  _

_ “How could I do that?” Erza cried. “I’m weak, and powerless. I can do nothing.”  _

_ Soft, gentle fingers caressed her jaw, and lifted her chin up. “What if I could change that?”  _

_ Erza’s eyes snapped open.  _

_ The woman that stood before her was the most beautiful being she had ever seen. Glowing white hair and eyes contrasted against her dark, dark skin. She had a warm smile and soft features, and Erza wanted nothing more than to give this strange woman a hug. “Why?” she whispered, tears in her eyes. “Why would you do that?”  _

_ “Because you cannot die here, little Erza,” she said. “You have too much to do. And you  _ can _ save those children. Would you like to do that?”  _

_ Erza steeled herself, and lifted her head high. “Yes.”  _

_ The woman’s smile brightened. “You will be magnificent, Erza Scarlet, Titania. A true Queen of Fairies.”  _

_ Then the woman vanished, and Erza collapsed.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juvia is the dom in that relationship sorry I don't make the rules. Also she's Wendy's new big sister. 
> 
> Oh, and mysterious lady that's interested in Erza? Yep, you'll just have to wait and see.


	12. Scarlet Like Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu wakes up to discover he's useless in their situation, Gray is separated from the group, Juvia stages a rescue, Wendy braces herself for a fight, and in the past, Erza's powers awaken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... this chapter is pretty gory. If that's not your cup of tea, I'd recommend being a little wary while reading. There's lots of eye stuff especially, which I know can really bother people. If gore's not your thing, it starts up when Jellal captures Gray, and during a flashback scene, after Erza's powers awaken (and it's pretty graphic the entirety of the rest of the flashback(s).

Slowly, Natsu regained consciousness. He felt his feet being dragged along the cold ground, and being jostled with each step. Was he being carried? He tried to sniff the air to figure out by who, but all he got was a sharp, metallic tang. 

His eyes finally snapped open as he jerked. Why could he only smell metal? He was used to smelling _everything! _This was almost worse than being blindfolded! 

Thanks to the sudden movement, the people carrying him dropped him, leading to him cracking his head on the floor. He tried to groan, but his mouth was clamped shut. His hands shot to his face, finding a thick, metal contraption covering the lower half of his head. 

He clawed at it, pitiful, distressed noises escaping him. 

“Natsu, Natsu, calm down.” Wendy appeared above him, gently grabbing his hands. “We’re going to figure out a way to get this off you, it’s okay.” 

He let her pull his hands away from his face, and focused on her eyes. She was right, he needed to calm down. Figure out what was going on. 

And it was just metal. If he got his fire hot enough, he could melt it right off. There was no reason to panic. 

He pressed his hand against the metal and tried to set it ablaze. But no fire ignited. His  _ temperature  _ didn’t even rise. 

His panic must have shown in his eyes, because Wendy tightened her hold on his wrist and pulled it towards her. “Look, look, Natsu. You have magic dampening cuffs on you. Nothing’s wrong, we just have to find a way to get them off of you. You’re okay.” 

He whined. 

Gray kneeled down next to them. “Pull yourself together, man. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in a bit of a situation.” 

He growled. Gray was right. This wasn’t the time for a meltdown. He forced himself up and tried to ask what was going on, but all that came out was a strangled noise. 

Juvia examined the clamps and chains on the back of the muzzle, checking again to make sure it really couldn’t be removed. “Lady Erza is missing, and we have no idea how we got here, or where we are. We need to find her and then escape,” she said. She gave the chain a light tug, but quickly gave up. 

_ Missing? Erza!?  _ There was no way Erza would get captured! 

“I’m tracking her scent, but it’s very faint,” Wendy said, as they started down the hallway again. “Do you smell her?” 

He shook his head and tapped at the metal. The stench of metal every time he breathed in was beginning to burn his nose. 

“Oh…” She frowned. “I’m sure I can find her eventually.” 

* * *

He knew that Erza wouldn’t surround herself by weak, useless wizards. It wasn’t that she sneered down at the weak, but she knew they were  _ breakable. _ Every event in her past only served to solidify that belief. 

And yet… Jellal couldn’t help but be astounded by the group of mages that had been captured with her. 

A demon hunting Lockser woman. A sky dragon slayer. A man that was somehow both demon and human (and given the opportunity, he would love to see just how he ticked). And finally, the fire dragon slayer, the one that was dragon enough most would probably never sense it. 

The monster that lurked within him, what he truly was. And oh, Jellal couldn’t wait to force that beast awake. 

He felt the four of them wandering through the Tower of Heaven, crossing over multiple wards. They were weak wards, more meant for stopping regular humans, but they still sent out a weak signal when disturbed by those they were too weak to stop. 

Of course, after seeing what Erza’s group was, Jellal didn’t expect his lackeys to be able to take care of them. So far, they hadn’t even been able to hunt the group back down. 

He smirked. It wasn’t quite time to sacrifice Erza, and he hadn’t had his fun with the human-demon hybrid yet. 

* * *

_ When Erza awoke, one of the men was unhooking her chains and lowering her to the ground. “What are you doing?” she couldn’t help but ask.  _

_ The man grimaced, then yanked  _ Jellal _ forward. “The little bastard just wouldn’t shut up, so we’re replacin’ ya. You work better than ‘im anyway.”  _

_ Erza tried scrambling to her feet to protest, but her legs wouldn’t support her, and she collapsed. “Jellal… no…”  _

_ The man drug her out by her hair, and the last thing she saw before passing out again, was Jellal’s body hung from the ceiling, and a reassuring smile on the new sacrifice's face.  _

* * *

He couldn’t move. 

Juvia, Wendy, and Natsu continued down the hall, but Gray stayed where he was. He tried to call out to them, but no sound came out. 

It wasn’t long before they rounded a corner, and vanished from sight. 

Had he been able, he would have thrown back his head and groaned. He just  _ had _ to bring up the rear. And have Natsu’s sense of smell dampened, and Wendy’s preoccupied by tracking Erza. 

Cold hands trailed down his arm, tracing the white pattern. Chills shot through his bones. “I’d love to see what did that to you…” 

He jerked around, his ability to move thankfully being returned, but no one was there. He spun on his heal, determined to catch up to everyone else and figure out just what the  _ fuck _ that was, only to be greeted by a person. 

Though he would never admit it, Gray jumped back with a high pitched yelp. 

The man smiled, and it might have been one of the most unsettling things Gray had ever seen.  _ _

_ Blue hair and a red marking on his face….  _ Gray frowned, trying to remember why that seemed so familiar. 

“Do you know what you are?” he asked

His frown deepened. “Human,” he bit out. 

The man chuckled. “I think we both know that’s not  _ quite  _ true.” 

Gray clenched his fists. “Who are you and what do you want?” 

The man took a step back, but his cocky smile never faded. “I have everything I want, at the moment. Dear Erza’s made sure of that.” 

He snarled. “If you hurt her—” 

“Oh, I intend to do far more than hurt her,” he said. “But I’m not here to talk about Erza.” He grabbed Gray’s shoulder. “I’m here to talk about  _ you.” _

He jerked backwards, but it was too late. They were no longer in the hallway, and back in the dungeon they had started in. Far quicker than what should be possible, the man clicked a magic dampening cuff around Gray’s wrist, then shoved him back onto the operating table, where the rest of the restraints clicked into place. 

“Hey! What the hell?” Gray jerked against the bonds, but it did nothing. 

The man grabbed one of the scalpels and examined it, as if making sure it was good enough for him. “I wonder,” he said. “You seemed very close with Erza. Surely she’s mentioned me?” 

Gray snarled, but the gears began turning in his head.  _ Blue hair, red markings, he obviously knows Erza.  _ With a sickening feeling, it dawned on him. “Jellal.” The man who exchanged his life for Erza’s, her first friend. Also the man who held every person she knew hostage, threatened to kill her, and had now kidnapped her. 

The fact that Gray knew who he was seemed to please him greatly. “Ah, good to know she hasn’t forgotten.” Ever so gently, he pressed the scalpel against the line on his chest. 

Gray sucked in a sharp breath. 

Then he removed it. “You weren’t lying when you said you were human.” 

Gray’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“But… I also sense something demonic in you,” he said. “How is it that you’ve managed to become both human and demon?” 

He didn’t answer, just glared at Jellal. Even if he did know, and could admit it to himself, he wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction. 

“Not going to answer me?” He shrugged. “That’s fine. I can figure it out myself.” 

Without warning, he jammed the scalpel into Gray’s eye. 

An ungodly screech echoed through the dungeon. 

* * *

The muzzle did not cover his ears, and that might be the only thing that saved Gray’s life. 

Natsu jerked to a stop and whipped around, dread clawing through his chest as he realized Gray had vanished right beneath their noses. 

“Gray?” Wendy squeaked. “Natsu… Oh Natsu, that was him, wasn’t it?” She squeezed Happy and Charle closer to her chest. 

He nodded, and began to march back the way they came. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he forced them back. He’d never,  _ ever _ heard Gray scream like that.  _ Ever.  _

Juvia grabbed his shoulder. “Natsu, wait.” 

_ Like hell! _ He shrugged her off, but she only grabbed him again. “Natsu, think about it. You can’t fight right now. You can’t use magic. Literally  _ can’t.” _ She sighed and tightened her grip on his shoulder. “I will go get Gray. I can fight, you can’t. Help Wendy find Lady Erza.” She stalked passed him, giving him a slight glare, a warning, to do as she said. 

Much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Natsu  _ wouldn’t _ be able to do anything, so he let her go. 

He just wished he could tune out Gray’s screaming somehow. 

* * *

_ She couldn’t remember exactly what happened when she was thrown away. It was… fuzzy. She knew there had been voices, but she couldn’t remember what they said.  _

_ It didn’t matter though. All that mattered was that place had taken so much of her. She could barely move, so it only made sense that she collapsed after working for just a few moments.  _

_ The man supervising her group kicked her so hard she flew backwards a few feet. She grunted, not even having enough energy left to scream.  _

_ “Get up, bitch!” he shouted. “Unless you just want to be sacrificed that badly!”  _

_ She couldn’t get up. She couldn’t even  _ try.

_ Jellal had sacrificed himself for nothing. She was going to be thrown away again, right next to him…  _

_ “Erza, please!” Milliana shouted. “Please! We can’t lose you too!”  _

_ She scraped up enough energy to shift her head to look at the little girl. Tears streamed down her face, as she was held back by the old man.  _

I’m sorry… 

_ Another man grabbed Milliana by her hair, yanking her away from the old man and tossing her across the yard. “Shut up! God, this group is annoying as all hell.”  _

_ Fire ignited in Erza’s chest.  _

_ Milliana was just a little kid. They were  _ all _ just little kids!  _

_ She forced herself up, legs shaking.  _

_ “There,” the man said, leaning down to get in her face. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”  _

_ Her fingers curled into a fist, and she drove it into the man’s face, so hard he went stumbling backwards.  _

_ Working fourteen hours a day had its perks. She was strong.  _

_ Gasps echoed around the yard, from both the other children, and even some of their captors. No one had fought back in  _ months, _ and certainly not a  _ child. 

_ It took a few seconds, but the man she hit recovered from the shock. “You little bastard!” He lunged forward.  _

_ She didn’t understand it, she wondered if she ever  _ would, _ as knowledge and power flooded her body. She jumped backwards, pivoted on her heel, placed her hands on the large man's lower back, and with the help of his momentum, shoved him to the ground.  _

_ Before he could get back up, she kicked him in the head as hard as she could. It seemed to do the trick, because he went limp and didn’t get back up.  _

_ Milliana covered her mouth with her hands. “E-Erza…”  _

_ As if the fall of one of their captors was the final ingredient, and a spell had been cast, slaves all over the work yard raised their tools. They weren’t the best weapons, but well… big wooden and metal sticks were better than nothing.  _

_ But their captors  _ had _ weapons. Erza could tell they were not the best at using them, but they were actual weapons, and their captors weren’t worked and beaten every day of their lives.  _

_ They had no chance.  _

_ Erza fell to her knees. This wasn’t what she wanted! Not really! A rebellion was foolish, and would only serve to get them killed.  _

_ And that’s exactly what it did.  _

_ She watched, eyes wide, as slave after slave was gutted. Ran through, beheaded, cut clean in half.  _

_ Blood flew through the air, splattered against everything and everyone.  _

_ She did not like the color scarlet anymore.  _

_ A woman approached her, dragging the old man from her cell behind her. “Is this what you wanted, little bitch?” she hissed, dropping the man at her feet and planting her foot on his back.  _

_ “N-No!” Erza screamed, shaking her head. She didn’t want anyone to die! She was just  _ tired.  _ So,  _ so _ tired.  _

_ The woman grimaced. “Just remember that you did this. You killed these people, and because they died, we have to go get more for this life.  _ Know that.”  _ Then she plunged her sword through the old man’s skull.  _

_ Erza did not know the old man she shared a cell with. He hadn’t pushed at her the way Jellal and the other children had. He seemed to understand why she did what she did, and because of that, Erza respected him.  _

_ And now he was dead. Because of her.  _

_ Burning rage uncoiled in her chest as she unleashed a gut-wrenching scream.  _

_ Metal and wood clattered around the work yard. Weapons were torn from people’s hands, slaves and captors alike. They lifted into the air, shaky but still deadly.  _

_ Erza rose to her feet, and with another wail and a wave of her hand, every weapon in the yard shot towards her.  _

Not _ her, the woman standing before her.  _

_ Every sword and spear and arrow and axe burrowed into the woman, destroying her so quickly and thoroughly she couldn’t even scream. By the time all the weapons cut through her, there was nothing left but a pile of bone fragments, shredded flesh and muscle, and liquifying innards.  _

_ With another shout and wave of her hand, the weapons scattered around the yard, finding their mark in the chests of each and every one of their captors.  _

_ She marched forward and yanked a sword out of a corpse, painting what parts of her that hadn’t been covered with blood red.  _

_ Shivering and shaking, Milliana, Sho, and Simon approached Erza.  _

_ “What did you do?” Sho whispered.  _

_ “Where are you going!?” Simon demanded as she turned her back to them.  _

_ She raised her chin. “I’m going to get Jellal. Stay here and help the injured.”  _

_ They tried to protest, but she ignored them.  _

_ As she stalked through the yard, the slaves that were still alive whispered. Asking who she was, how she did that, how such a small child could be so brutal.  _

_ “Erza Scarlet.”  _

_ Her name spread like wildfire, faster than a fairy’s wings.  _

Erza Scarlet. 

_ Not scarlet like her hair, no one thought that anymore.  _

_ Scarlet like the blood that she spilled.  _

* * *

Black blood leaked from the hybrid’s eye socket. 

Jellal flicked the eye off the scalpel, leaving it to land in some dark corner of the dungeon. 

The man continued to scream, and god, Jellal wished he would shut up. All he’d done was take out an eye, and that was nothing. 

He stuck his finger in the blood running down his face, then licked it off. 

_ Definitely demon blood… _ Not that he had expected anything different. And if he was demon enough to have black blood, then his eye should regenerate in no time. 

But he still didn’t understand how this man had become such a perfect blend of human and demon. Had he been born this way? Or was he made? And if he had been made,  _ how? _ Could Jellal replicate it? It would certainly be a good way to build an army for Zeref. 

Finally the man began to quiet down, his screaming reduced to frantic panting and gasping. 

Jellal examined the markings once again. They were similar to one of Zeref’s high ranking demons. Had this man been created with the blood of that demon? 

He grabbed his chin and jerked his head to the side. This man truly was the perfect creation. The powers of a demon, but with a nearly perfect human aura, that would keep him hidden and disguised as completely human until he attacked. 

He grinned and tightened his hold on the scalpel. He cut into the man’s chest, wanting to see his heart. Was he truly half? Or more human? More demon? His heart would tell. 

* * *

Juvia threw open the door to the dungeon they had previously been in, already charging up for an attack. 

She had to swallow back vomit at the scene that greeted her. 

Gray’s face was slack, a gaping hole where his right eye had been. Black gore dripped from the socket, landing on the ground with sickening  _ plops.  _

A man stood over him, digging a scalpel into his chest. He smiled at Juvia, but his eyes were sharp and angry. 

Then he vanished. 

Juvia dashed forward. “Gray!  _ Gray!”  _

He groaned. 

There was nothing she could do for the eye, or rather, the  _ lack _ of an eye. She didn’t even see the body part anywhere. And thankfully, the man hadn’t gotten too far with the scalpel. A shallow cut only about three inches long was all he’d managed to inflict. 

“We have to get out of here,” she said, pulling him off the examination table for the second time that day. 

He cracked his remaining eye open. “Juvia…?” 

“Yeah, it’s me,” she assured him. As she slung his arm over her shoulders, she wished he wasn’t so damn heavy. 

“Magic dampening cuff…” he whimpered, waving his hand. “Get it off.” 

She complied and tossed it aside. “Can you tell me what happened?” she urged as she started down the hallway. She moved as fast as she could, but she doubted she’d be able to catch up to Natsu and Wendy. 

“Couldn’t move…” he gasped. “Jellal… wanted to know… about me… He took me back there… My eye… Tried to cut my chest… open…” 

She frowned.  _ Jellal?  _ It wasn’t a name she had ever heard before. But whoever he was, he was clearly bad news, and… unhinged. “Okay. I’m going to get us out of here.” 

And she was. She would get Gray out of this fortress, or castle, or whatever it was, and if the others did not find them, she would go back in to help. Gray obviously would be unable to fight, and he needed medical attention before shock killed him, or a severe infection set in. Blood loss was also becoming an issue, as it showed no signs of slowing down, black blood or not. 

“I’ll keep you safe,” she promised as he passed out. 

* * *

Wendy cursed herself for not smelling their approach. She’d been so focused on hunting Erza that she’d forgotten they were in enemy territory. 

And now they had three wizards behind them. Natsu marched forward, ready to fight, but Wendy grabbed him and thrusted Happy and Charle into his arms. “I’ll handle them. You can’t fight. Just keep going down this hallway. Miss Erza is close,” she whispered, quiet enough that only he would hear. 

He began to protest, or at least, that’s what she assumed the noise was. “No. Listen to me, Natsu. You know I’m right. Now  _ go.”  _ She added a snarl for good measure, to show she was serious. She  _ did not _ go around growling and snarling constantly like her brothers, because those noises were only for when you were  _ serious.  _

Natsu’s eyes widened, before he nodded and sprinted down the hallway. 

Wendy settled on her heels and took in a deep breath. She wasn’t supposed to use her magic, but what else could she do? 

_ “Sky dragon roar!”  _

The building shook with her power, and though the wizards screamed and scrambled, they didn’t flee. 

Wendy sighed and cracked her knuckles. If they weren’t going to run, guess she had to go all out. 

* * *

“Your friends are certainly entertaining,” Jellal said. 

Erza glared, and wished for the millionth time that he would take her gag off. 

“It didn’t take them long to get loose and start causing quite a bit of damage,” he continued. 

She sniffed. Served him right. If he made Natsu mad enough, they were going to have a full blown rampage on their hands, and while Erza didn’t especially like dealing with the aftermath of those and calming him down, she had to admit, Jellal is one person she wouldn’t mind being on the receiving end of said rampage. 

“But it doesn’t matter.” He moved forward, and began to unhook her from the wall. “It’s almost time for the ritual.” 

Erza wished Jellal had died, strung up like the sacrifice she was about to become. 

* * *

_ She sliced through every person who dared to get in her way.  _

_ She still didn’t understand where the sudden knowledge of weaponry and combat came from, but she wouldn’t question it. Not while it got her what she wanted.  _

_ “Titania,” someone whispered with their dying breaths. “A Queen of Fairies.”  _

_ The words were familiar, sending tingles down Erza’s spine, but she ignored them. It was unimportant.  _

_ She kicked open the door to the sacrifice room, where Jellal still hung from the ceiling, scrawny and limp.  _

_ “Jellal?” she called.  _

_ Somehow, someway, his eyes opened. “Erza?”  _

_ She abandoned her sword, leaving it to clatter to the ground, staining yet another room with blood, and ran forward.  _

_ She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him and save him from the chains. “I did it, Jellal. I did it. We’re free. We can go.”  _

_ He fell to his knees, staring up at her, and something was… off about his eyes, but she didn’t think about it. Who knew what he had been through in this room.  _

_ “We can leave,” she repeated, settling onto her knees to embrace him, leaving blood to smear across him.  _

_ “Leave?” His voice was distant, almost as if it were no longer his.  _

_ She nodded. “I did it. They’re gone now. They’re all gone.”  _

_ He cocked his head. “The blood?”  _

_ She bit her lip, but nodded.  _

_ “Show me.”  _

_ Erza frowned, but helped him to his feet. Before they left the room, he picked up the sword she’d discarded, but she didn’t think much of it. He was probably scared, and felt better to have a weapon in hand.  _

_ She led him outside, to overlook the work yard, littered with corpses and blood and spare body parts.  _

_ Jellal hummed. “And you did that? After being in the room?”  _

_ Her eyebrows furrowed together. “Y-Yes… most of it was me. But it doesn’t matter! I was helping everyone else! Protecting them!”  _

_ Jellal frowned and tightened his grip on the sword.  _

_ Then he swung.  _

_ It sliced across Erza’s face, and into her eye. She screamed, pressed her hands to her eye, and fell to her knees. Blood poured from between her fingers, dripping off the ledge and down to the work yard below, to join the lakes of blood on the ground.  _

_ Blood. Always blood.  _

_ Jellal grabbed her hair and drug her around the ledge, and then down the stairs, all while she sobbed. When he deemed they were close enough to the ground that she could fall without dying, he kicked her off the ledge.  _

_ She landed with a crunch and a wail, the blood from her eye pooling around her head, blurring whether the red patch on the ground was her hair or the liquid.  _

_ “You’re right, Erza. You may leave,” Jellal said above her.  _

_ “But—” she sobbed. “But why—”  _

_ He smirked and rested the sword on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. So go. And if you ever return, I will kill Milliana, Sho, Simon,  _ everyone. _ Do you understand  _ that?” _ _

_ Erza ran.  _

_ What else was she supposed to do? Whoever this was… it wasn’t Jellal. And she could sense that he was serious. If he ever saw her again, he would kill everyone Erza had just saved.  _

_ So she ran.  _

_ Jellal howled with laughter. “Fair well,  _ Titania.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm playing a game called 'how many scars can I give the Fairy Tail characters before it gets ridiculous.' I plan to have one more chapter regarding the Tower of Heaven. I don't plan on including the battle of Fairy Tail, although Laxus is getting ready to be introduced and there will be conflict surrounding that. And like I've said before, after this arc, canon really goes out the window, and I'm super stoked to get into different world building and that kind of thing. 
> 
> Also, I'm playing with the idea of a BNHA high fantasy AU, and an FMA urban fantasy AU, just basics so far, so if I write them, it'll probably be a bit before anything's posted, but it's a possibility if anyone's into either one of those things!


	13. Erza's Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jellal plans to sacrifice Erza, Juvia and Gray find a way off the island, Wendy's fight escalates, and Natsu finally works his way into the fray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but I had a little trouble with this chapter, couldn't get it to flow like I wanted but eh, guess I'm okay with it now (it's also a little longer than usual). Hope you enjoy!

Erza had long since come to terms with the fact that Jellal had died when they were children. 

She’d been in that room, and though she may not have the clearest memory of what it was like, she knew it took from you,  _ changed _ you. The Jellal that had been put in that room and the one that had left, were not the same person. 

And that was fine. That meant that this man before her was just another enemy to be cut down, not a former ally,  _ friend. _ Someone she would have gone to the ends of the Earth for. 

_ A different person, _ she told herself as he transported her to the very top of the tower.  _ A different person. The second I am free of these magic dampening cuffs, I can end him.  _

Etherion surrounded her, and she frowned. Etherion was… a very volatile magical material. Why would sections of the tower be built with it? 

She growled through the gag. What did he  _ want _ with her? Why was she here? 

“You know, Erza,” he said. “I always wondered what happened to you in that room. You managed to stay alive and keep your soul for so long. Why is that?” 

She glared at him. How the hell was she supposed to know something like that? It was probably because she could be so damn stubborn! 

He leaned forward and gently grabbed the gag. “It bothered me. Because… I was only in there for a little over a day, and they took me. But  _ you _ were in there for three! And you were fine!” He tugged the gag out of her mouth, letting it rest around her neck. “I want to know how.” 

She was silent, then spat in his face. 

He didn’t react, and it irritated her to know end. “Come now, Erza. I’m trying to have a civilized conversation.” 

“Fuck you!” she snarled. 

This got his eyes to widen. “You’ve certainly become a lot more brash than you used to be.” 

She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. So stop pretending. We are  _ enemies.” _

Jellal finally leaned back and sighed. “Well… alright then. If that’s how you want it to be.” 

“Why am I here?” She tugged against the restraints pinning her to an etherion pillar, to no avail. 

“Why, to finally resurrect the Dark Lord Zeref,” he said with a smile. 

Erza tried to hide her shock, but she didn’t think it worked.  _ Zeref? The person Natsu has nightmares about?  _

Jellal’s smile faded into a smirk. “So you’ve heard of him. Not surprising, given the life you’ve made for yourself.” 

She really hadn’t… but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting such a thing. She opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, when she cut herself off, eyes widening as a knife flew through the air and embedded itself in Jellal’s shoulder. 

He whirled around with a hiss, yanking the knife out. 

“I will not let you do this to her.” 

“Simon?” Erza dared to breathe. 

* * *

Gray tried to protest when he realized Juvia was leading him out of the tower. They needed to find Erza! And they couldn’t leave Natsu and Wendy alone in there! 

The water mage had none of it, hushing him and telling him he needed help. 

Which, yeah, he guessed that was fair… He’d just had his eye cut out, and he was sure he would panic over it after he wasn’t delirious from pain, shock, and blood loss. 

Juvia finally got him out of the tower, and laid him on the ground. That’s when it finally hit him. He’d lost an  _ eye.  _ It was  _ gone.  _ That wasn’t something that could just get  _ fixed.  _

Juvia fell to her knees next to him. “Okay, Gray… I’m going to try and clean it out. It’s going to hurt, but I don’t think I have a choice. We’re on an island, so it’s going to be a while before we can get you any actual medical attention.” 

He tried to tell her to wait, but she was already spraying the right side of his face with water. He screeched as the cool liquid dripped into his eye socket. 

She shoved her free hand over his mouth and hushed him. “I’m sorry. But I need to do this.” The next stream of water to hit him was much gentler, but that didn’t do much to dispel the pain. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. 

After Juvia was satisfied with the wound, she ripped off her sleeve, tearing it, then wrapped it around his head and over his eye socket, before tying it as tight as it would go. “Alright then,” she said. “Let’s get you on your feet. We need to find a way off this island.” She heaved him up. 

It took a few blinks to get the water out of his remaining eye, and he saw Juvia was right. The tower they’d been in was the only structure on this small, rocky island. He frowned. Why would someone build a tower out here? Even a dark guild wouldn’t do that. It was too cut off from the rest of Fiore. 

Which meant it must be hiding something. Something  _ really _ bad. 

He took a shuddering breath. “Yeah, okay. We’ll find a way off, then we’ll find everyone else?” 

Juvia bit her lip, but nodded. 

The started their slow search of the island. 

* * *

Wendy had been a member of Fairy Tail since she was four years old. 

Fairy Tail could be a dangerous place, and not a single member had wanted to see something horrible happen to such a small, cute little girl. 

And sure, she had powerful magic, but so did a lot of other people, so obviously, she had to know how to defend herself. 

Wendy was pretty sure that every single member of the guild had given her combat lessons at least once, and most more than that. 

Never mind the fact that she spent most of her childhood wrestling and brawling with Erza, Gray, Natsu, Cana, and the Strauss siblings. And before even  _ that, _ Natsu, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue. 

Basically, Wendy did not have to rely on her magic to fight. Sure, she used it when she fought, most of the time because it was a trump card. Wizards had to be very powerful to go toe to toe with a seasoned dragon slayer. 

But in certain situations, such as this one, she had a feeling it would probably end the fight faster if she could get close to the wizards and knock them out, rather than trading spells back and forth. 

And though she knew it was a bad idea, and that it increased her chances of a draconic transformation like her brothers,’ she always fought better when she allowed her dragon instincts to take her. 

Natsu embraced his dragon instincts. Ever since they were little and they first appeared after being granted their magic, he’d left them at the forefront. Never fighting them off or resisting them. Rather, he  _ embraced  _ them. It left him rough around the edges, a little unnerving to normal people, and much more animal-like in his habits. 

Wendy didn’t want that. She never had. Even Grandine had discouraged it. So she dug her heels in, and refused to let the instincts take her. It didn’t work perfectly, they were very strong things to fight off, but she did her best. And it worked. A lot of people didn’t believe that her and Natsu were the same thing, arguing that she just felt so  _ human.  _

But she knew how to switch them on and off, and right now, she switched the dragon instincts on. 

She settled into a fight stance, hunched over and teeth bared. The snarl that ripped from her chest  _ did not _ sound as if it should come from such a little girl. 

As the air around her shifted, becoming more hostile and dangerous, the wizards skittered back a few paces. 

“What the hell?” one whispered. 

“Jellal said she was a dragon slayer…” another said, shaking his head. “I’m out!” He turned on his heel and fled. 

Wendy’s gaze zeroed in on her fleeing prey. Turning your back and sprinting away from a predator was never a good move. 

She sprang after him. She summoned a powerful wind, and pounced on his back, pinning him beneath her. Before he could recover and throw her tiny body off, she grabbed his head and slammed it into the floor. 

The cat girl tried to restrain her with her magic, but Wendy sensed the attack coming and sprang out of the way. While the wizard was focused on her spells, Wendy dashed forward and grabbed her leg, throwing the girl off balance. She stumbled, and Wendy drove her fist into the girl’s jaw, leaving her to crash to the ground, unconscious. 

Wendy whirled to take care of the third wizard, but a kick to the chest sent her flying backwards. She landed with a  _ crack! _ as her head smacked against the floor. She groaned as the world spun. Hot, sticky blood dripped down her face. 

“You little brat,” he hissed as he approached her. “Where did the rest of you go?” 

She forced herself onto her hands and knees to glare at the man. He wouldn’t get past her. She had to protect her friends, her  _ family.  _ They were  _ hers, _ and  _ nobody _ was allowed to touch them! 

He leaned down to grab one of her pigtails, giving it a vicious tug. “Answer me!” 

She smirked. Had he already forgotten about her magic? She might be too disoriented to hit him, but she still had her roar, and he stood at point blank range. 

His eyes widened as he seemed to realize his mistake when she opened her mouth. 

_ “SKY DRAGON ROAR!”  _

He flew backwards, knocked unconscious by the force of her breath attack. 

She let out a sigh of relief and forced herself to stand up. The world spun faster. “Oh… that wasn’t a good idea…” She managed to press her hand against her head, smearing blood all over the place, before collapsing. 

_ At least I didn’t let them pass…  _ she thought with a small smile, as darkness rushed over her. 

* * *

Jellal sighed. Of course things could never just go as planned. “Simon, what do you think you’re doing?” 

Simon’s eyes hardened as he held his sword towards Jellal. “She saved our lives all those years ago,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what you want with her, but I doubt she will walk away. I will not let that happen.” 

“Get out of here!” Erza shouted, beginning to struggle again. 

Jellal shook his head. He really should have expected this. As much as he’d tried to convince them of Erza’s “betrayal,” he’d always suspected that some of them hadn’t  _ quite _ believed him. “I’m inclined to agree with her. You have no business being here. Go hunt down the other wizards.” 

Simon stood rigid, refusing to back down, though he couldn’t hide his shaking hands. “No. I saw what you did to her. How you cut her eye out and threw her from the tower. I still don’t know why, and I never knew which of you I should trust, but now… now, I think it’s you, Erza. I think I should trust you.” 

Erza’s eyes widened, before she schooled her expression into something neutral. “Simon. I did what I did to protect you. It means nothing if you die here, and you cannot beat him. So please. Turn around, and leave.” 

His hands shook harder. “You’ll die!” 

Despite everything, she raised her head and let out a haughty laugh. “As if I would let myself die in a place like this.” 

This coaxed a smile out of Simon, and Jellal had to roll his eyes. Did she really think she was still going to get out of here? She had no magic, no weapons, her allies were nowhere to be found, and she was right. 

Simon was no match for him. 

He held his hand out, power building in his palm. “This is your last chance, Simon. I’ll not have you swaying others to your side.” 

_ “Simon!” _ Panic finally broke through Erza’s cocky facade. 

But Simon was perfectly calm. His hands had stopped shaking. “Then kill me Jellal. I won’t turn my back on her again, and I should have stood up to you years ago. I let you corrupt everyone left.” Then he charged Jellal, sword raised. 

He sighed. “Well that’s a damn shame.” He released the power building in his hand. Blinding light bounded around, reflecting off the etherion. 

_ “NO!” _ Erza wailed. 

The light cleared, leaving behind Simon’s corpse. 

Jellal turned to smile at Erza. Tears streamed down her face. Hatred boiled in her eyes. “I’ll kill you,” she whispered. 

“You’ll never get the chance.” He slammed his palms against the etherion. 

It was time to start the ritual. 

* * *

Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to find a boat. It wasn’t very big or sturdy, but Juvia decided that they didn’t have the option to be picky. It would have to do. 

She settled Gray down, giving him a worried look as he scratched at his wound beneath the makeshift bandage. “Gray?” 

He grunted. “What?” 

“You probably shouldn’t pick at it.” She gently grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his face. “Doesn’t that hurt?” 

He frowned. “No… it just itches?” 

Juvia’s eyebrows shot up. “Itches?” How could it not  _ hurt? _ How was he not in complete agony? He’d had his eye stabbed out! 

He nodded. “Just itches. Must be adrenaline or something.” 

She gave him a look. “That  _ is not _ how adrenaline works.” She reached to tug out the knot keeping the cloth in place around his head. “I’m going to make sure it looks okay.” 

He shrugged, letting her do as she wished. 

The cloth fell away, and Juvia peered into his eye socket. She jerked backwards with a screech. 

Gray jumped, clapping a hand over the wound, then wincing. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked. 

Juvia covered her mouth with her hands. “It’s moving!” 

_ “Moving?” _ he demanded. “What the  _ fuck _ does that mean?” 

She nudged his hand out of the way, wanting a better look. “The tissue, it looked like it was shifting.” 

Sure enough, it was. Muscle, ligaments, and god knew what else squirmed and throbbed within Gray’s vacant eye socket. Not only did it move, it seemed to be  _ expanding, _ almost as if it were fixing itself. “Oh…” she realized. “I think it’s  _ healing.” _

He glared at her. “How the hell would it be healing?” 

She let out a sigh. “Well… Gray… you know, you aren’t exactly… human,” she said, looking away. “Demons can heal themselves.” 

“I’m not a demon!” he snarled, gripping the side of the boat so hard his knuckles turned white. 

Juvia bit her lip, but didn’t have it in her to argue with him. “Okay… Okay. Either way. I think it’s healing. Which is a good thing! If it weren’t for this… well, your eye would be  _ gone. _ Forever.” 

He  _ hmph _ ed. 

Juvia stared into the water. She didn’t trust him enough to leave him alone, but she didn’t like sitting and waiting for the others.  _ Especially _ not since Wendy was the only fighter they definitely had at the moment. 

She took a deep breath.  _ If they’re not out in a few more minutes, I’ll go in after them.  _

* * *

Charle and Happy finally squirmed awake, jumping out of Natsu’s arms and demanding to know what happened. 

Unfortunately, he had no idea how to answer them. He gestured to the muzzle, letting out an annoyed groan.

“Natsu! Where is Wendy?” Charle demanded, pawing at his leg. 

He glared at her, slapping the muzzle. 

The cat let out an annoyed yowl. 

“Are you okay?” Happy asked, flying up to rest on Natsu’s shoulder, and he shrugged. He wasn’t  _ hurt, _ but the muzzle was beginning to stress him out more and more. 

With little else to do, he continued up the stairs that Wendy’s hallway had led to, praying that Erza was up there, and that she could get him out of this sensory deprived hell. 

* * *

Power unfurled in Erza’s chest, in a way that she’d only felt once before. 

On that day in the work yard, the first time she’d ever used her magic. 

_ You cannot die here, little Erza.  _

The words sent lightning shooting down her spine. What did that mean? What was that voice? Why was it  _ familiar?  _

_ I gave you power, and you’ve done well, so well, but this world is far from done with you. You cannot die here.  _

Etherion glowed all around her, illuminating the top of the tower in a way that fire never could. The glow intensified as Jellal shoved more and more power into the material. 

“I will not die here,” she whispered. “I can still save them.” Hot tears dripped down her cheeks. She’d failed Simon, but the others… Milliana, Sho, everyone else, she could still get them out of here. There was still a chance. 

Natsu, Wendy, Juvia, Gray. They were here too! Her  _ family!  _

The power in her chest exploded, and along with it, her restraints and magic dampening cuffs shattered. Fragments flew across the room, scattering on the ground with little clicks. 

Jellal whirled around, eyes widening with shock as she stood. “How did you do that?” he demanded. 

She requipped, calling forth her twin katanas, and shifted into a battle ready stance. “You think you could defeat me?” she asked. “Drug me, hold me prisoner, and use me for your demented rituals?” She shook her head. “Do you not remember me at all?” 

He shouted in frustration, throwing a beam of light in her direction. She rolled out of the way, shooting up to sprint at him, swords ready to slice him in two. 

He grabbed her swords, blocking the blow, only little trickles of blood dripping from his hands and down his wrists. 

Erza’s eyes widened. “H-How…” He’d  _ blocked _ her blow? With his bare  _ hands?  _ That shouldn’t even be possible! 

Jellal’s features twisted, his eyes going vacant and dark. “Titania, it would be best for us all if you just cooperated.” 

She jumped backwards, requipping her armor again, a stronger set, and more intimidating weapons. “Never,” she hissed. 

So he was powerful. It didn’t matter! She’d fought powerful people before! This was no different! 

She raised her sword, and charged again. 

He dodged, spinning on his heel to avoid the weapon. She moved just as quickly, twirling to hit him between the shoulder blades with the hilt. He stumbled, but whirled around to send another wave of magic towards her. 

She dodged. “It’s over!” she shouted. “You will resurrect no one! Your reign over this place will end!” She thrusted her weapon towards him. 

Dark laughter bubbled from him as he hopped backwards. He clicked his tongue. “Erza, Erza,  _ Erza. _ What do you know of what’s going on here? Do you actually  _ know _ about the forces that control us?” 

She requipped again, into an armor meant to boost her speed. “No one controls us, Jellal!  _ You _ did this!” 

More light flashed from his palms. Not quick enough to dodge, it collided with her chest, shattering her armor. 

She gasped, requipping into another set as soon as the other shattered. 

Jellal surged forward, pinning her against a pillar of etherion. “Think about it. Where did this power of yours came from? Who  _ gave _ it to you?” 

She screamed, shoving him away. “No one! It’s mine!” She called forth more and more weapons, sending them flying towards Jellal with a thrust of her arms. 

Light exploded from his body, disintigrating every weapon that connected with it. 

Erza’s chest heaved, but she refused to let her fear show. Jellal didn’t even look  _ winded.  _

“No, it’s not,  _ Titania,”  _ he snarled, irritated. “You are naive, deliberately blind to everything!” He raised his arms, and with a pained yell, jerked them downwards. 

Giant beams of light shot down from the heavens, beating into the tower, shooting between the gaps in the roof. 

Erza looked up, dread flooding her body as she realized she was beneath a gap. A blinding beam of light barreled into her, shoving her body to the ground, vaporizing sections of her armor. 

It continued to beat against her, shoving her into the floor of etherion, as if gravity had been altered for her. Her bones grinded against each other. She couldn’t stop the wail of agony that escaped her. 

The light finally faded, only to be replaced by Jellal kneeling over her, a knee pressed against her chest. “Now, we’ve fought your way. So  _ stop.  _ It’s time for this to end.” 

She tried to get up, but her body wouldn’t let her. Tears dripped from the corners of her eyes. “Why did you kill him? He just wanted to help…” 

Jellal’s smile was feral. “He got in my way.” He held his palm over her forehead, light building once again. “Now it’s time for you to do what you were brought here for. Your annihilation will bring our Lord Zeref’s return.” 

Erza refused to close her eyes. If she didn’t survive this, if this was truly where it ended for her, she would not meet it with her eyes shut. 

Just before Jellal released the hold on his magic, a blur smashed into him, sending him flying several feet away. 

“Natsu!” Erza exclaimed, crazy laughter escaping her as the dragon slayer took Jellal’s place over her. 

He shoved his wrists in her face as urgent, distressed noises just barely escaped the muzzle clamped over the lower half of his face. Her eyes locked on the magic dampening cuffs, and knew what he wanted. 

She summoned the sharpest blade she had, and sawed through the stone cuffs within seconds. 

Natsu’s eyes glinted dangerously, a look that often preluded  _ a lot  _ of things being lit on fire. 

He stood, protectively, guarding Erza from Jellal, who staggered to his feet. Natsu slammed his hand against the muzzle, and the metal began to glow, before dripping away, revealing an angry snarl. “Happy, Charle,” he called over his shoulder. “Go down the stairs and back down the hallway to find Wendy. Get her out of here.” 

Erza jerked her head towards the door, just in time to see the two cats fly away, with an echoing, “Aye, sir!” 

Natsu’s attention snapped back to Jellal. “You made Erza cry.” 

She grabbed at his ankle. “Natsu… that’s Jellal…” 

That only served to make him angrier. He shoved his fist into his palm with a small explosion as it ignited. “You made Erza cry!” he repeated, much louder and more feral. The snarl that laced the words sent shivers down her spine. 

She hadn’t watched him rampage so closely in a long time. And he  _ was _ going to rampage, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind about that. 

Jellal’s cocky grin returned. “Ah, the fire dragon slayer. I’ve heard you’re a bit of a monster.” 

Natsu’s snarl deepened. 

“Natsu!” Erza exclaimed.  _ Please don’t rampage. Not right now.  _

He shook her off, and crouched down, ready to pounce. 

“How about you show me if it’s true?” he taunted. 

With a roar, Natsu charged. 

* * *

Just as Juvia was about to venture back into the tower, the two flying cats sped towards them, Wendy dangling from their mouths. They gently placed her in the boat, where Juvia and Gray began fussing over her. 

“Why is she unconscious?” Gray demanded. 

Juvia began washing away the blood on her face. 

“I don’t know,” Charle said. “We woke up with Natsu, so we had no choice but to stay with him. He found Erza, and she got his magic back, so he could finally melt the muzzle off. He sent us to find Wendy and told us to get out. We found her like this, and there were three other unconscious wizards around her.” She began licking at Wendy’s cheek. 

Gray grimaced. “She probably got in a fight.” 

Juvia nodded in agreement. “I suspect this head injury is why she’s unconscious. We’ll have to wait for her to wake up and tell us what happened.” 

“Wait, you said Natsu found Erza?” Gray asked. 

“Yeah!” Happy bounced. “He’s fighting right now! Gray, your eye looks really gross.” He put his paws on Gray’s chest to stretch up and sniff at his eye. 

Gray shoved him away. “Stop that. And if he’s fighting then we need to get back in there.” He began to get up. 

“Wait, no!” Happy exclaimed, going rigid. 

“I would advise against that,” Charle said at the same time. 

“Why not?” Juvia asked. Sure, she didn’t want Gray in there, but he could stay and keep an eye on Wendy while she went back in. 

Happy suddenly looked worried, and maybe even a little ashamed. “I think he’s going to rampage…” 

Charle sniffed. “There’s no  _ think _ about it, he  _ is _ going to rampage.” 

“Shit!” Gray swore. “He’s been having a lot of issues lately, too, so it’s probably going to be a lot worse…” 

Happy nodded gravely. 

“Rampage?” Juvia dared to asked. 

Happy shuddered. “It’s when Natsu gets really mad…”

Juvia raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gray, silently asking for a better explanation than the one the cat had provided her. 

“Sometimes when Natsu fights, he gets… well, like Happy said, he gets  _ pissed, _ and loses control of himself,” Gray explained. “He gets really violent, and sometimes he can’t tell friend from foe. It’s usually worse if one of us is in danger.” Realization dawned on him. “Happy! Charle! Was Erza hurt?” 

Charle’s tail flicked. “She was on the ground, and couldn’t appear to move, so I assume so. She was also crying.” 

Gray punched the side of the boat so hard the wood splintered. Juvia jumped. 

“Dammit!” he snarled. “She was  _ crying?  _ I don’t give a fuck, let Natsu rampage,  _ no one _ makes Erza cry. That bastard Jellal has it coming.” 

Juvia turned her gaze to the tower, and tried to ignore the anxiety and dread gnawing at her. 

She hadn’t known the Fairy Tail mages for long, but she’d be heartbroken if something happened to them. “Please be safe,” she whispered. 

* * *

As soon as Erza managed to get herself a safe distance away, Natsu let his fire rage. 

The guild hadn’t let him do this since learning about his condition, but there was no one around to stop him anymore. 

And it felt  _ so good.  _

He laughed as his fire spread and roared, racing towards Jellal. Something akin to fear sprung to life in his eyes, but he managed to keep the fire at bay with his own light magic. 

He liked the fear in his eyes. He wanted to keep it there. He  _ deserved _ to be afraid after what he did to Erza. 

Natsu prowled towards him, growls rumbling from his chest, slinking forward, like a cat playing with a mouse. 

“Do you even know what you are?” Jellal asked. 

Natsu’s eyes narrowed. “The fuck are you talking about it?” 

His infuriating smirk returned. “Nothing.” He shot a beam of light towards him. 

Natsu rolled out of the way, then scrambled back to his feet. He took in a deep breath, and sent a breath attack towards the man. 

Jellal managed to dodge, but just barely, the flames singing his shirt. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to save Erza.”

Natsu twitched, his fists clenching and unclenching. His mind began to go dark at the edges, leaving only two things for him to focus on. 

_ Erza had been hurt.  _

_ Jellal had hurt Erza.  _

Smoke clouded the air as he breathed in and out, deeper breaths, quicker and quicker. His vision sharpened, zeroing in on his target, but going fuzzy at the edges. 

“Natsu!” Erza shouted, but her voice was dim, muffled. 

Everything went blank. 

* * *

The moment Natsu’s eyes went blank, Erza knew it was too late to snap him out of it.

She hid behind a pillar of etherion. The heat from Natsu’s flames lapped at her, and she knew if she moved even an inch, she’d  _ burn.  _

She tried to tune out the sounds of the fight. She  _ hated _ listening to Natsu fight. He sounded so inhuman. Even when he actually spoke, his voice was distorted and grating. Not to mention that this particular fight, was littered with his pained noises. 

She doubted he was losing… but Jellal was powerful, and Natsu wasn’t going to get out of this unscathed. 

But a scream of pain had her stiffening. 

Natsu didn’t scream like that. Natsu  _ never _ screamed like that. 

Hurt,  _ scared.  _

She requipped into her Flame Empress armor, deciding enough was enough. Jellal was her problem and she would deal with him herself. 

If Jellal hurt Natsu, she’d end him. 

* * *

The pain snapped him out of his episode, leaving him to watch with horror as rust red scales appeared on his arms. The same pain prickled on the sides of his face, and as he clawed his hands down his face, he felt the same, diamond hard scales. 

Erza kneeled down next to him. “Natsu?” 

He whimpered. 

She gently ran her fingers over the scales on his cheeks. “Oh… Natsu…” 

Jellal shifted, causing Natsu to catch his scent again, immediately distracting him from the pain. “Erza… get back.” 

His chest was empty, no fire was left. 

Levy yelled at him for eating fire now, and though his lungs had changed to produce fire on their own, it wasn’t enough. 

_ Etherion… Etherion’s magic, right?  _ He clawed off a chunk of the etherion, and shoved it into his mouth. 

“Natsu!” Erza shook him. “Spit that out!” 

He shoved her behind him as he swallowed the etherion, trying to ignore the way it burned in his throat. 

His stomach roiled, but he felt his magic being replenished. “Erza…” he forced out. “Get back…” He hoped she understood him. Why was his voice so warped? 

“Natsu…” she protested. 

He shoved her. “Get back!” 

His body reignited, and he willed the flames hotter and hotter. The etherion around him splintered with the heat and began to glow. 

Jellal’s eyes widened.  _ “What are you doing!?”  _ He ran towards Natsu, light building in his palms again. 

The fire exploded, and Jellal couldn’t escape this time. Natsu roared with the fire. A solid hit across the jaw sent Jellal reeling backwards. He let out a cry of pain, enticing Natsu to pounce. “You made Erza cry,” he whispered. 

Fear flashed over Jellal’s features, and he cried out as the flames bit into his skin. 

“No one makes Erza cry.” He pulled his arm back for the finishing blow, but someone grabbed the back of his vest, yanking him backwards. 

“We have to get out of here!” Erza shouted, dragging him towards the staircase. 

He thrashed and snarled, too caught up in the thrill of a kill to notice the shaking tower, splintering etherion, the spreading fire. 

Erza stopped to slap him. “Snap out of it, Natsu!” 

_ “Kill,”  _ he snarled.  _ I need to kill him. “Zeref.”  _

She shook him. “Natsu! This isn’t you!” More tears bubbled in the corners of her eyes. “Please… Don’t let this be you.” 

His eyes widened.  _ I… I made Erza cry.  _

“Sorry,” he managed to choke out, before collapsing. 

* * *

Jellal blinked. 

Something… something wasn’t right. Why did the world look like this? Why was it so  _ hot? _

Erza let out and anguished cry, as she dragged the unconscious dragon slayer towards the staircase, desperately trying to flee the burning etherion. This  _ hell.  _

This hell that needed someone to merge with it, someone with powerful magic. 

His head was off. He didn’t quite…  _ know _ things.

But what he did know, was that he loved Erza Scarlet, and if he’d sacrificed himself for her once, he could do it again. 

And he realized why his mind felt so strange. It was  _ clear.  _ Someway, somehow, he was  _ him _ again. “Erza!” he dared to call. 

She stiffened, and summoned one of her swords, but didn’t charge at him. 

“Get out of here,” he said. Then he placed his hands on the etherion. 

Erza’s eyes widened. “Wait,  _ Jellal!”  _

He smiled. He hadn’t heard her voice in so long, not really. “Thank you,” he whispered, and he let the etherion take him. 

* * *

Erza shut her mind down. 

It was all she could do to save herself and Natsu. She heaved the unconscious dragon slayer onto her back, and ran. She sprinted down the stairs and through the hallways, searching for a way out. 

_ Jellal…  _

Despite all the fear, all the tears, she smiled. 

She’d seen him, one last time. He’d come back to life, just for a few seconds, to save her. “Thank you.” 

* * *

Juvia had to hold Gray back as the top of the tower exploded. He screamed for Erza and Natsu, voice ragged and broken as the water mage held him down. 

“Natsu!” Happy wailed. “Natsu!” 

Gray clutched onto Juvia. He wasn’t entirely sure why, probably because she was the closest person to him, besides Wendy, who was still unconscious. 

Erza and Natsu were in there! His  _ family _ was in there, and he was out here,  _ useless.  _

And then, after a few agonizing minutes that seemed to last an eternity, Erza staggered from the tower, Natsu on her back. 

Juvia couldn’t hold him back. Gray didn’t think  _ anyone _ could have held him back at that point. 

He raced towards them, taking Natsu from Erza’s back and guiding her towards the little boat. 

“Gray, your eye!” she tried to fuss, but he hushed her. 

“It’s fine. I promise. Are you okay?” He trudged back to the boat, where Juvia scolded him for putting himself in danger. He ignored her and laid Natsu next to his little sister. 

“Wait…” he muttered. 

Red scales littered Natsu’s arms. They didn’t completely cover them, but had taken over at least half his skin. They had appeared on his neck, and even his face, just below his hairline, and creeping towards his cheeks, outlining his face in a sick way. “Erza?” 

She turned towards him, eyes watering with tears. 

And he understood. 

Whatever had happened in the tower… Whatever Jellal had done, he’d hurt her. 

And that wasn’t okay. 

Explanations could wait. “Juvia, get us out of here,” he muttered. Then he gently grabbed Erza’s hand, and tugged her close, tucking her into his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.” 

He knew she wasn’t listening, from the distant look in her eyes, as Juvia steered them away from the tower. 

Erza didn’t cry. 

So when she did, Gray let her. He held her close, and he let her cry. 

* * *

_ The Master of the strange guild had taken her to a lady in the woods to fix her eye. Turned out it couldn’t be fixed, but she could replace it.  _

_ Erza didn’t mind. Whatever let her see again.  _

_ The little old man was kind, and so were the other guild members. They treated her well, and over time, she found she thought of more than Jellal, and the other children she’d left behind.  _

_ And eventually, not too long after she joined, the Master brought back other children. A group of three siblings, and a little girl with dark hair that Erza noticed had been lurking around the guildhall for several weeks now.  _

_ And they were nice. She became friends with them.  _

_ But then he brought back two boys.  _

_ A dark haired boy, who frowned a lot and was always cold, and a loud, pink haired boy who sniffed her when they met.  _

_ And those two were different.  _

_ They became her family, the first she’d ever had. Eventually, the pink haired one’s little sister was added to her family, and the brown haired girl, and the three siblings.  _

_ But something about those two boys… They were special to her.  _

_ Natsu and Gray.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Jellal will be back, but I figure you knew that. Next chapter will be more focused on what Levy, Mirajane, and Gajeel are up to in the capital


	14. Study Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levy, Mirajane, and Gajeel have a grand ole time at the capital's library, and Loke's fate finally begins to catch up with him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter than normal, but I thought it would be a good spot for a more chill chapter. 
> 
> (Because I kinda lied. The Battle of Fairy Tail isn't reeeaaally happening, since the whole guild and Magnolia aren't involved... but it's going to get really intense again when Laxus and his crew show up, so.... whoops)

The capital’s library was absolutely magnificent, and Levy wanted nothing more than to spend a month exploring the shelves. 

Unfortunately, she was stuck in a dark corner of the library filled with ancient, crumbling books about dragons, with Mirajane and Gajeel, and the latter she wasn’t even sure could read. 

Mirajane sat upside down in a chair, white hair spilling over the floor, groaning as she tossed aside her book, to pick up another off the giant pile of ones they needed to go through. Her dress slid down her thighs, and Levy really wanted to tell her to sit regularly, but they’d been here so long, that even  _ she _ was getting antsy and bored, so she let Mirajane be. 

Three days of this was enough to drive anyone insane. 

Master Makarov had tapped out after the first day, deciding to try and get some information out of other council members. 

Levy didn’t know how much use that would actually be, but she didn’t comment. 

Currently, she flipped through a book full of well known dragons, right before most of them disappeared. It was interesting, but not what they needed. She turned to the next page, and frowned. 

_ The Flame Dragon King.  _

“Huh…” She skimmed the page. “Hey Mira, what was Natsu’s father’s name? Igneel? Right?” 

Mirajane hummed. “I think so.” 

“Yeah,” Gajeel huffed, causing Levy to jump. He hadn’t spoken all day. “Igneel was his name. Why?” 

Levy frowned. “Nothing. I just never knew he was kinda famous for dragons, really powerful, I guess.” 

Gajeel hummed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

She glanced over at him, focusing way too hard on whatever book he was reading. It took him far too long to change pages, even for a slow reader. He probably wasn’t actually reading… 

She huffed and turned away. It wasn’t her problem. If he didn’t want to help, well, it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about it. 

Mirajane tumbled out of her chair to come peer over Levy’s shoulder. “Is that what he looked like?” She pointed to the drawing of a dragon on Igneel’s page. 

Levy shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t know who else it would be.” 

“That’s cool. Natsu’s really bad at describing and drawing anything, that’s nothing what I thought he would look like,” Mirajane said. 

Gajeel snorted. 

“What?” Levy demanded. 

The small smile that’d crept over Gajeel’s face faded. “Nothing…” 

Mirajane smirked and slid over towards the dragon slayer. “So what was Natsu like as a little kid?” she asked. 

_ Oh… _ Levy realized.  _ He probably wants to know more about his brother.  _

He turned his focus back to the book. “He was a fuckin’ brat.” 

Mirajane rolled her eyes. “He’s still a fucking brat most of the time, that’s not what I meant.” She leaned against him. “Come  _ ooooooonnnnn.” _

Gajeel stiffened as she touched him, and Levy flinched, before forcing herself to calm down.  _ He’s not going to do anything to her, _ she told herself.  _ He’s not that stupid, I don’t think.  _

Mirajane pestered him for a few more minutes before he finally caved and said, “He was a weird little kid, quiet, and really didn’t like being left alone.” 

Levy’s eyebrows knit together. “Quiet?” Natsu had been  _ quiet? _ Was that even possible? 

Gajeel nodded. “It took a few years, then he got loud and obnoxious, but when he was little, yeah, he barely talked. Igneel was the only one who could get him to actually talk.” 

Mirajane leaned away, a little disappointed. “That’s not what I was expecting.” 

Gajeel shrugged, and ignored Mirajane when she tried pestering him again. Eventually growing bored herself, she slunk back to her chair and picked her book back up with a groan. 

Levy had to bite back a complaint herself. It really did seem like they were going to get nowhere with this. 

* * *

Mirajane laid on top of a bookshelf, making a dramatic show of how bored she was. 

“How did you even get up here?” Gajeel huffed. 

She glanced down at him. “I climbed the bookshelf, obviously. I have to sleep  _ somewhere.”  _

Levy had already passed out, curled around a pile of books, using one as a pillow, another open on her chest. 

Gajeel,  _ somehow _ , was still reading. He looked far from thrilled about it, but continued to flick through pages, stifling the occasional yawn. 

Mirajane couldn’t help but watch him. She had her grievances about him joining them on their trip to the capital, actually, grievances about him in general, but he’d been nothing but helpful. He was slow, but never stopped researching, and he’d answered any questions he could about dragons. 

He was surprisingly quiet and hardworking. Mirajane began to see why the Master was so insistent he join the guild. Phantom Lord really hadn’t been a good place for him. 

“So…” Mirajane said, rolling over to prop herself up on her elbows. “Are you and Juvia a couple?” If he went so far to protect her, surely they must, right? 

He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” 

She dramatically collapsed. “Together! You  _ love _ each other!” 

Gajeel was silent for a moment, then threw his head back and cackled so loudly Levy twitched in her sleep. “Fuck no! You thought I was fuckin’ Ju?” Though his laughter quieted, his shoulders still shook. “Hell no!” 

Mirajane’s grin was devilish. “Oh no?” That meant he was single. That meant  _ Juvia _ was single. 

He scoffed. “No.” 

She rolled back over, and the gears began turning. 

* * *

Loke awoke with a gasp, clutching at his chest. It felt tight, constricted. He couldn’t  _ breathe.  _

He rolled off the couch, landing with a solid  _ thump!  _

A few seconds later, the lights flicked on, and Cana ran towards him. “Loke? Loke!” She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. “What’s wrong?” 

“Can’t,” he wheezed. “Breathe.” 

“Fuck.” She slammed her hand against his back. 

He coughed. “Not… that…” he choked. 

Her eyes widened, before growing distant. “Oh… Okay, then. Breathe with me.” She took a deep breath. “In.” 

He heaved a shuddering breath, forcing back a wheeze. 

Cana nodded, and let out her breath. “And out.” 

The breath he let out was more of a cough, but she didn’t let that discourage her. “In,” she repeated. She coached him through his breathing until it returned to normal, though the tightness in his chest hadn’t quite gone away.

“There we go,” she said, as her shoulders sagged with relief. “You good?” 

He nodded. 

Cana’s expression hardened, then she whacked the back of his head. “The hell happened? What was that?” 

“Ow!” He rubbed his head, wincing. 

“Well?” she demanded, crossing her arms. 

Loke hung his head. “I… I think it’s finally starting…” A sad laugh escaped him. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long.” 

Cana whacked him again. 

“Hey!” He glared at her. 

“Shut the fuck up,” she growled. “You ain’t gonna die.” She leaned against the couch, frown deepening. “You’re too fucking annoying for that.”

He clutched at his chest. “That’s not how it works, Cana. I haven’t been to the celestial spirit realm in  _ years. _ It’s about time it caught up with me. My magic power’s been drained for a while, and that fight against Phantom Lord definitely didn’t help with what reserves I had left.” 

“Then  _ do _ something about it!” she snapped. “What coward just rolls over and accepts their fate like this?” 

He shook his head. “I accepted it  _ years _ ago. You know that. You knew that when you decided to get close to me. We both knew this was coming. Don’t act so surprised.” 

Cana’s face twisted into a grimace as she jumped up, marched back to her bedroom, and slammed the door. 

Loke groaned and threw his head back. Cana  _ knew _ about this, so why was she reacting this way? 

Sure, he was dying, but there was nothing to do about it, so there was no point in throwing a fit like that over it. 

With little else to do, he climbed back onto the couch and went back to sleep. 

* * *

Levy sat up with a yawn, stretching. She couldn’t have slept more than a few hours, but the floor and piles of books were only so comfortable, not to mention that her body ached all over because of doing this for several days already. 

Mirajane was draped over one of the shelves, sleeping soundly enough that a little drool dripped from the corner of her mouth. Gajeel still sat at the table, reading, though he looked ready to drop. 

“You didn’t sleep, did you?” she asked. He  _ always _ looked a little awful and sleep deprived, but it had gotten worse over the past couple days. 

He grunted. 

Levy frowned and took her seat at the table. “You know, you could answer me with actual words once in a while.”

Gajeel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Figured ya didn’t wanna talk to me.” 

She shrugged. “No, but that mostly means don’t start meaningless conversations. If I ask you a question, I’d like a decent answer. I’m pissed at you, not terrified.” 

His shoulders shook, and she realized he was holding back a laugh. 

“What?” 

He shook his head. “Nothin.’ Just y’er pretty tough for someone so small.” 

“Hey! I’m not that small!” She glared at him. 

He turned a page. “Whatever you say, Shrimp.” 

Levy huffed, then narrowed her eyes at the book he was reading. “Is that the same one you had earlier? You know, you don’t have to pretend to help when we’re asleep.” 

He tensed. “Not pretendin,’ what would be the point in that?” 

She shrugged. “How should I know? But it shouldn’t take anyone that long to read a book that size.” 

He turned away, letting his unruly hair fall into his face. 

The realization slammed into Levy harder than Gajeel’s iron fist had, and she cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. “You… can’t read?” 

His gaze snapped back to her, pink blush racing over his face. “Shut up! ‘Course I can read! Just… not… very well…”

“Oh…” She felt a small twinge of guilt for thinking he was just pretending to help. “Why didn’t you say something?” 

“Didn’t matter. I  _ can _ read, good enough, anyways. And it’s not like anything can be done about it,” he said with a shrug. 

“Were you just never taught?” she asked. 

He tapped his fingers on the table. “Metalicana taught me the basics, but didn’t think it was real important so left it at that. And Phantom Lord just used me as a brawler and a weapon, so it was never important to learn any more.” 

She hummed. “I’m sure someone could teach you if you wanted.” 

He shook his head. “Not important. I know enough to get by, that’s all I need.” 

She didn’t press him anymore, it was obvious he wanted the subject dropped. She supposed she could understand his embarrassment, and someone teaching him how to read at this point in his life would probably only make it worse. “Well, whatever. You should get some sleep, or you’re going to get too tired to help anyway.” 

He huffed. “I know how to function well enough without sleep.” 

“That’s not a good reason.” Lord, he was stubborn. 

“I wanna finish this,” he argued, gesturing to the book. 

“It will be here in the morning,” she said. 

He frowned. “I think it… might actually be helpful…” 

Levy’s eyes widened. “You really think so?” At this point, she’d nearly given up hope of finding a lead here. 

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not too smart so maybe you should take a look at it. But it’s sayin’ something about how dragon slayer magic wants a dragon to host it.” 

She frowned. “Yeah, we already knew that.” 

“Wants, not  _ needs,” _ he said. “It doesn’t  _ need _ us to be dragons.” 

Levy had almost forgotten that Gajeel was turning into a dragon too. No wonder he was working so hard on this. Not only was his brother’s future on the line, his was as well. “Yeah…” she said. “That’s certainly… an odd distinction.” 

He slid the book towards her, and pointed to several different passages. “You can read through that while I doze off for a while, and I might be over simplifyin’ things thinkin’ like this, but if it doesn’t actually  _ need _ us to be dragons, why don’t we just trick the magic into thinking we already are dragons?” He got out of his chair and slunk off to sleep somewhere before Levy could reply. 

It took her a few minutes to understand what he meant, but when she did, she couldn’t help but admire the  _ brilliance _ of it. If the magic believed its host bodies were already dragons, it wouldn’t change them anymore. Not only would that stop the transformation, but it would allow Natsu and Gajeel, and Wendy, too, to continue to use their magic, without any more consequences. 

Of course, she would have to read through this book and make sure that was actually what it meant. She wasn’t about to put much stock in Gajeel’s reading comprehension skills after the conversation they’d just had. And even if that was what it meant, she’d have to fact check, compare it to any other texts they managed to find, to make sure the author of the book wasn’t horribly wrong. 

Not to mention that if it  _ was _ completely true and would actually work, they then had to find a way to accomplish tricking  _ magic _ into thinking that  _ humans _ were dragons, which sounded like the most half-baked plan she had ever heard, but she refused to let that get her down. 

It was a start. And a start was all they needed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levy is absolutely going to have reading lessons with Gajeel. Absolutely. Also match maker Mirajane makes her first appearance. 
> 
> Also I think I finally figured out who I wanted Natsu to end up with romantically (but you'll just have to wait and see)


	15. Levy's Good News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu and Gray realize they look a little different now, Levy shares what she learned while in the capital, and the guild celebrates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another more fun chapter. I probably could have combined this with the last one but eh, oh well.

After returning to Magnolia, Juvia was sent to inform the guild of what had happened, as well as get word to the Master somehow, if he wasn’t back. 

Natsu, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness the entire way back, was brought back to his and Wendy’s house by everyone else. 

“You can just sleep here,” Wendy offered, already making her way to her bedroom to make sure it was decent for them. “I’m sure Natsu will want you close by when he actually wakes up.” 

Gray and Erza began to protest, but she hushed them. “I mean it, just stay here. I sleep with Natsu most nights anyways. You can have my bed.”

Gray and Erza exchanged a glance. “Fine…” Gray finally relented. “But tomorrow morning, the first thing we’re doing is going to the guildhall and getting everyone fixed up.” 

Wendy’s head throbbed, as if to remind her that  _ yes, _ it still hurt. “That’d probably be wise,” she said, trying not to look at the gaping hole where Gray's eye had been, or the cuts and bruises that littered Erza’s body. “But right now everyone is tired. I think sleep will help. We can talk in the morning.” 

Erza nodded. “Thank you, Wendy.” 

“It’s no trouble!” she said, gesturing to her bedroom. “Now please, Miss Erza, Mister Gray, get some sleep.” Then she dragged herself to Natsu’s room, and curled up next to him. 

* * *

The first thing Natsu did when he awoke was find a mirror. 

His memory of his fight with Jellal was fuzzy, but he remembered the pain of the scales appearing, searing his skin away. 

They were speckled all over his arms and hands, each about two inches wide, and deep red. There was no pattern to them, having popped up in random places. They were rough to the touch, and didn’t meld well with his skin, leaving the places they attached to peel and scab. 

When he saw his face in the mirror, he couldn’t help but let out a choked laugh, relief flooding through him. The scales didn’t actually cover his face, just outlined it. They were barely visible along his hairline, covered by his bangs. Smaller scales crept over his cheeks, but stopped before covering the vast majority. They trailed about half his jawline, winding down to his neck, but still didn’t cover much. 

“Natsu?” 

He jumped, scrambling away from the mirror. “Wendy!” 

She hummed, then grabbed his hand and led him out of the bathroom and to the living room, sitting him down on the couch. “They don’t look bad…” 

He cocked his head. “Huh?”

She ran her finger down the scales on his cheek. “The scales.” 

Natsu realized that he had slightly less feeling where the scales were. He tried not to let his concern show. “Oh…” He shrugged. “Yeah, they’re fine.”

She offered him a small smile. “They look almost the same color as Igneel’s, don’t you think?” 

He hummed. He hadn’t even noticed until she pointed it out. “Yeah, they are.” Then he sniffed at the cut on her temple. “Are you okay?” 

She nodded. “Hurts a little, but it’s not very bad.” She grinned. “I won my fight!” 

“Hey!” He ruffled her hair. “Good job, I’m proud of you!” He didn’t scold her for using magic. It wouldn’t help either one of them. She knew the consequences, and it was her decision to use her power and risk them. 

She beamed. “I’m gonna get as powerful as you and Gajeel someday, and I’ll beat both of you!” She slammed her fist into her palm and did her best to look intimidating. 

“I’m sure you will,” he said. “You’re kickass, Wendy!” 

Erza shrieked from Wendy’s bedroom. 

“What? What are you screaming about?” Gray demanded. 

“Your  _ eye!”  _ she shouted. 

Natsu and Wendy glanced at each other, before hopping off the couch and running towards her bedroom. 

When they saw what Erza meant, they jumped back, exclamations of shock escaping them. 

_ “What?” _ Gray demanded, still wrapped up in Wendy’s quilts on the bed. 

“Uh… Can you see?” Natsu asked. “Guys, I think he’s blind!” Gray’s right eye, the one that had been  _ missing, _ or at least, that’s what Natsu  _ thought _ the first time he woke up, was back, and pure black. 

“I can see your gaping faces just  _ fine,” _ he said. “Care to actually tell me what’s wrong?” 

“Your eye is back…” Erza murmured, leaning across the bed for a better look. 

“Oh…” He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, Juvia said she thought it was healing…” 

“Gray, it’s black!” Wendy exclaimed. “Your whole eye is  _ black!”  _

Gray slapped his hand over his eye.  _ “Fuck!”  _

Erza worried her lip. “Do you think it’s… because… you know…” 

“Because you’re a demon?” Natsu finished. 

“Natsu!” Erza and Wendy scolded. 

“What?” he whined. “That’s what he is, ain’t he?”

Gray curled in on himself. “Yeah,” he bit out. “It’s because I’m a demon.” 

Natsu grinned. “Well that’s good! You’ve got an eye now, otherwise you wouldn’t. I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.” He put his hands behind his head. “Let’s head to the guildhall. I’m hungry, and Wendy needs to be fixed up. Erza, you’re looking kind of rough, too.” He turned on his heel and waltzed out, leaving everyone else to follow. 

* * *

“Mira!” Erza exclaimed as they entered the guildhall. “I didn’t think you would be back yet!” She ran towards her as quick as she could and enveloped her in a hug. 

“Woah, Erz…” Mirajane caught her, keeping her steady. “Careful.” She cupped Erza’s cheek and brushed her thumb across it. “Are you okay? Juvia told us what happened, or what she could, anyways… Do you want to talk about it?” 

Erza’s breath shuddered out of her. “Maybe later…” She didn’t want to think about Jellal, or Simon, or any of the others that had still been in the tower and maybe not made it out. 

“And that’s okay,” Mirajane assured her. “Whenever you’re ready. But I might have some news to help cheer you up and get your mind off of it.” 

Erza’s eyes widened, and she almost collapsed in Mirajane’s arms. “You don’t mean…” 

She smiled and nodded. “Levy and Gajeel found a lead. They think they may have a way to help Natsu.”

Erza’s hands covered her mouth as she almost sobbed with relief. “Really?” 

“Really. You want to go get everyone and we’ll discuss it? Figure out what to do next?” she suggested. 

* * *

Levy couldn’t help but feel like they’d had a breakthrough just in time when she saw Natsu, and the vicious scales that marred his skin. Why did his transformation seem to be progressing much more quickly than Gajeel’s?

She also wasn’t quite sure what to make of Gray’s eye, but she restrained herself from asking. That wasn’t why they were gathered. 

Gajeel, Mirajane, the Master, and Levy sat on one side of the private office, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Wendy on the other. 

“You really think you found a way to fix him?” Wendy asked, voice shaking, like she was worried this might all be some big prank. 

“W-Well,” Levy began. “We think so, but I don’t want to get your hopes up. Right now, it’s a theory. True, it’s probably the most solid one we’re going to get, but still, a theory. And we still have to find the proper materials to make it work, and that will be another massive struggle.” She rubbed her shoulder, wishing she had better news. 

“Ah, hush up, Shrimp. You did good work, stop down playin’ it,” Gajeel muttered. 

“It was your original idea!” she protested. “I never would have figured out the rest if you hadn’t come up with it first!” 

“How about you quit fighting and actually tell us what you figured out?” Gray snapped as he thumped his head against the wall. 

“Right!” Levy said, clapping her hands together. “We just have to trick your magic into thinking you’re already a dragon.” 

“Pardon me?” Erza asked. 

“I know I ain’t that smart,” Natsu said. “But that doesn’t make a damn bit of sense to me.” 

Wendy nodded vigorously. “Yeah, Miss Levy, can you explain it?” 

“Okay, so,” she said. “Gajeel realized that a book said your magic doesn’t  _ need _ you to be a dragon, only  _ wants _ you to be one. After he pointed it out, I went through them and realized myself that almost anything that referenced the draconic transformation said the same thing. So that established that you weren’t going to die or anything if it wasn’t completed.” 

The Master groaned. “Took three days of reading to figure that out.” 

“Oh, you weren’t even there most of the time,” Mirajane reminded him. 

He huffed. 

“Right…” Natsu said. “I still don’t get how that’s supposed to stop us from turning into dragons.” 

“Like she said, dumbass,” Gajeel said. “Gotta trick it into thinkin’ we  _ are _ dragons already, then it’s satisfied and it ain’t gonna do nothing else to us.”

“But it’s magic,” Gray argued. “How do you  _ trick _ magic?” 

“That’s what I was most concerned about,” Levy admitted. “But I researched a lot about dragon anatomy, and learned that they have very different blood than a human, and blood is one of the few things that is replaceable in a body, and circulates throughout your entire body, and would be more than just one part of it. But again, like I said earlier, this is just a  _ theory, _ but I think if we replace their blood with dragon blood, it might halt the transformation.” 

Natsu let out a cry of dismay. “You wanna take my blood out and put new blood  _ in me?” _

Gajeel leveled a stare at him. “Would you rather be a dragon?” 

Levy nodded. “We consulted Porlyusica and some healers in the capital. They think it could work, so long as the material in your bones is fused with the blood as well, so that your body will keep creating dragon blood, rather than more human blood once the dragon blood we put in you is gone.” 

“That sounds… difficult, and painful,” Erza said. “But you really think it’s possible?” 

Master Makarov nodded. “We wouldn’t tell you and give you hope if we didn’t think it would work.” 

Before Levy even realized what was happening, Natsu and Wendy had leaped out of their seats and crushed her in a hug. “Levy, you’re so smart!” Natsu exclaimed. 

“Thank you, Miss Levy!” Wendy said. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” 

She stumbled, but they held her upright. “Of course. You’re my friends. I want to help you. And it wasn’t all me. Gajeel and Mira helped too.” 

“Oh, I didn’t do anything,” Mirajane argued. “You know that.” 

Gajeel grunted, but didn’t protest. 

“Oh, and Wendy,” Levy said, pulling back so she could look her in the eye. “If this works, that means you could still use your magic.” 

The little slayer bounced up and down, squealing. “Oh, Miss Levy!” Tears pooled in her eyes.  _ “Thank you!”  _

“There is one issue with this though,” Erza said, her voice cutting through the joy in the air like a sword. “Where are we supposed to get dragon blood? Enough dragon blood to fill three people?” 

Levy deflated. “Yes… that is the main issue with this solution.” 

Natsu finally let her go and took a step back. “Hey, don’t sweat it, Levy. This is still great! We can find a dragon, no problem!” 

She knew better than to point out that he had been looking for dragons for eight years and not found a trace of one, but maybe some of his optimism was what they needed. 

* * *

“Next time we wanna relax, I vote we just stay at the guildhall,” Gray said as he slumped across the table, steadily sipping from what must be his fifth cup of booze. 

“Yeah!” Natsu agreed with a hiccup, knocking back his  _ sixth _ cup. “Here we can fight without security yellin’ at us.” 

Erza sighed and shook her head. The pair of them hadn’t been this carefree in weeks. She couldn’t help but smile, even if she didn’t approve of the brawling. 

Most of Fairy Tail heard of the good news Levy and the others had brought home, so even though there was no official decision, most of the guild had decided to party. Good natured fights and drinking contests broke out over the guildhall. There hadn’t been this aura of ease around the guildhall in a long while, and it made Erza’s chest warm and fuzzy. 

Things were beginning to look up after all. 

Although she could do without Cana dancing on top of the bar and trying to entice anyone who got near to join her. Erza would bet the next reward she got that something had happened between her and Loke again. 

She shook her head. It didn’t matter, and she had better things to focus on. 

Like Gajeel handing Wendy booze. 

She shot out of her seat, dashed over, and snatched the glass away. 

“Awwwww,” Wendy whined. 

“You can’t let someone so young drink alcohol!” she scolded Gajeel. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Why not? I was drinkin’ at her age.” 

She stomped her foot. “That’s not a good thing! Wendy! I implore you to stay away from your older brother, he is a bad influence.” 

Gajeel laughed, and Erza realized he was very drunk as well. “You’re a riot, Scarlet. Fight me sometime.” He patted Wendy on the back so hard she stumbled forward. “Whaddya think, brat? Think I could win?” 

Wendy gasped. “No way! No one can beat Miss Erza! Not even you and Natsu!” 

He laughed harder, picked Wendy up, and rubbed the top of her head. “I think y’er lyin’ to me.” 

She squealed with laughter and tried to wriggle out of grasp. “Gajeel! No!” 

Erza smiled. She’d had her misgivings about Gajeel, but he seemed an alright fellow. And who was she to judge? Most members of Fairy Tail didn’t have the greatest pasts and were a bit rough around the edges. He’d fit in just fine. 

She glanced back to see Natsu and Gray trading blows. “No fighting!” she scolded, dashing over to break them apart. 

“He called me stupid!” Natsu accused, pointing a finger at Gray. 

“Well you are stupid!” Gray argued. 

Erza whacked them both upside the head. “Cut it out, you two! Or I’m not going to let you drink anymore!” They always fought more when they drank, which thankfully wasn’t often, but still. 

Natsu fell onto the floor with a whine, then began giggling. Gray just slumped into his seat. 

After a few seconds on the floor, Natsu had passed out. Not wanting to actually take him home, Erza settled for scooting him beneath a table, so at the very least, he wouldn’t be stepped on. 

As soon as she sat back down, Gray grabbed her hand and slurred, “Erza! Erza! You think because I’m a demon… I can’t go in churches anymore?” He seemed distraught by the idea, but at least he finally admitted he was a demon, even if he  _ was _ completely plastered. 

“Would that matter?” she asked. “You don’t go to church.” 

His eyes widened and he let go of her hand. “Oh yeah! I don’t!” 

_ “Gray!”  _ Juvia climbed into the seat next to him and draped herself across him. “Your eye is pretty…” 

_ Great, so she’s drunk too.  _ Was Erza the only sober member at the guild? 

“Yeah?” he asked, leaning closer to Juvia. 

“Mmhm.” She poked his cheek. “Very pretty.” 

Well, at least Erza knew she was right about Juvia liking Gray. Getting everyone drunk was a great way to reveal information like that. 

Speaking of… Cana had enticed Lucy into dancing on the bar with her, and they were pressed  _ very _ close. Erza jerked her gaze away, cheeks burning. Her and Mirajane would never! Not in front of so many people. 

The guild partied long into the night, and at some point, Erza drifted off, laying across a table. 

* * *

_ His claws screeched down the pod Zeref shoved him into.  _

_ “Natsu, please!” he begged. “I don’t want to put you back under. We were so close!” Zeref banged his fists against the pod. “Fight it! Don’t make me do this!”  _

_ He snarled.  _ Natsu.  _ He was so  _ sick _ of hearing that, as if his name was supposed to make him human again.  _

_ He didn’t know much, but he knew humanity was long gone, and he would never get it back.  _

_ “Please,” Zeref’s voice cracked.  _ “PLEASE!” 

_ Natsu snarled again, flaring his wings to bang them against the sides of the pod. He wanted  _ out! _ Not to be his experiment again.  _

_ “I’m sorry.” Something bright flashed, and the cold blackness was back.  _

* * *

Natsu jerked awake, and smacked his head on the underside of a table. He groaned and crawled out from underneath it. 

Members of the guild were sprawled all over the place, having passed out anywhere that could be deemed mildly comfortable. 

Most notably was Erza on top of the table he had been under, with drawings all over her face. “Erza?” He poked at her. When she didn’t stir, he moved on. 

Gray and Juvia were pressed together on a bench. Gajeel slept on the floor, with Wendy curled up on top of his chest. Cana was passed out over the bar, but that was nothing unusual. The only person who was up and about was Mirajane. 

“Hey, Mira…” he muttered as he shuffled over to the bar. “Mind makin’ me some breakfast if you’re not too busy?” 

She offered him a small smile. “Of course, Natsu.” 

He sat down and glanced at the calendar hanging on the opposite side of the bar. He’d been so distracted lately he’d nearly forgotten. “It’s tomorrow?” 

Mirajane froze. Then let out a quiet, “Yeah.” 

“‘M sorry…” he said, laying his head down on the bar. 

She shrugged. “It’s just another day.” 

_ Another day. Another year.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three guesses as to what Natsu and Mirajane are talking about. I'm excited for the super depressing next chapter. 
> 
> Also, there's the next chapter and then Laxus and his crew are going to make their appearance!


	16. The Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anniversary of Lisanna's death always leaves Fairy Tail reeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made everyone sad and I love it

Lucy had avoided the guildhall like the plague since the party. One reason being the massive hangover she’d had, not wanting to listen to the more boisterous members of the guild (Natsu and friends). 

The second being Cana, who was always at the guildhall. 

Cana, who she had danced with,  _ very _ intimately. And then had a messy makeout session with. 

But, well… she couldn’t stay gone forever, and Loke  _ had _ made it clear he was okay with Lucy and Cana being involved, so there really was no point in trying to stay away. 

She had a feeling that was the last time she drank for a while, though. She always did stupid things when she drank. 

What she wasn’t prepared for was the somber mood that greeted her in the guildhall. Even more so than when it was discovered Natsu was becoming a dragon, and Gray was a demon. 

It was quiet, and empty, just a few members here and there, and most of the regulars were gone as well. Elfman, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, even  _ Mirajane _ was nowhere to be found. 

But Cana was there, in her regular seat at the bar. 

Lucy crept forward and sat next to her, and something with Cana, just like everything else, seemed  _ off. _ She drank all the time, everyone knew that, but somehow Lucy knew, that today she was  _ sad _ drinking. “Hey Cana, what’s going on? Are you okay?” she dared to ask. 

She glanced over at her. “Right… You’re new. You don’t know.” 

“Know what?” 

Cana downed her booze then took a deep breath. “It’s the anniversary. Of Lisanna’s death. It’s been three years now.” 

Lucy frowned. Lisanna? She hadn’t heard the name before, but Cana was right. She hadn’t been here very long, after all. “Oh…” 

“Yeah, she’s Mirajane and Elfman’s little sister, so if you see them today, I’d be really nice. She was real close with Natsu, too, but I’d just avoid him altogether. He can be a real bastard when he’s upset,” she warned. “They’ll all be back to normal tomorrow, always are, they’re good at puttin’ on a show, but I think they just need a day to be sad and pissed off.” 

Lucy stared at the bar. “That’s… kind of sad.” They just pretended to be happy? Mirajane, Elfman, and Natsu were always smiling. How many of those were fake? 

She didn’t know them very well, but the thought of them faking it for the sake of everyone else left her chest aching. 

Cana shrugged. “They’ve always been like that, just the way they are. Think that they think if they pretend long enough, maybe they actually will be happy.” She shook her head. “But don’t worry about it, it’s not like you can do anything about it.” 

Maybe not, but… “What about you? You’re obviously upset over it.” 

“Well yeah!” she snapped. “I grew up with Lisanna. She wasn’t my sister or girlfriend or whatever the fuck her and Natsu had going on, but I cared about her. She was my friend, and I miss her. And if all you’re gonna do is ask stupid questions, you can buzz off.” 

Lucy’s shoulders slumped. That really wasn’t what she meant by it. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.” 

“Well I’m not.” She gripped the edge of the bar so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Now just let me drink.” 

With little else to do, Lucy left her alone. 

* * *

_ “I like Fairy Tail…”  _

_ Mirajane raised her eyebrows. “You like it?”  _

_ Lisanna nodded. “Yeah! The Master is a nice old man, I’m glad he let us stay, and it’s even more fun now that there’s a bunch of other kids, too!”  _

_ Mirajane frowned at that. Lisanna had begun to spend a lot of time with the stupid little dragon slayer, and that was unacceptable, given how much time he spent with that little Erza brat, thinking she owned the place just because she was here first.  _

_ Lisanna snuggled into the bed they shared in their room at Fairy Hills. “I know you don’t like the other kids very much, but they’re nice, Mira.” She patted the mattress, obviously wanting her to come cuddle.  _

_ Mirajane obliged, tucking her little sister in close. It was odd not sharing a room with Elfman as well, but the Master had been insistent he stay in the boys’ dorms.  _

_ “Can we stay, Mira?” Lisanna asked. “Can we stay forever? I don’t want to leave.”  _

_ Mirajane huffed. “Sure. Whatever. We’ll be at Fairy Tail forever.”  _

* * *

Rain. 

It always rained on the anniversary, as if the universe knew they were upset and thought the world should acknowledge it. 

“You want me to leave you alone?” Erza offered, after setting her own flowers on the grave. 

Mirajane shook her head. “No… No, I don’t want that.” 

She liked that it rained. The rain hid the tears on her cheeks, even if everyone knew they were there. 

Lisanna’s grave was as bland as ever, a depressing slab of rock surrounded by the guild’s flowers. 

She set her own bouquet down and backed away. Erza and Elfman placed a hand on each of her shoulders. 

It’d been three years. Shouldn’t this day be getting easier, as time went on? Why did it seem harder with each passing year? Why did the ache in her chest only intensify? 

She didn’t understand. 

* * *

_ Erza didn’t get sick. She didn’t! She was just… tired. Very tired. And that made her head hurt, and her stomach upset. That’s all it was.  _

_ Of course, no one would believe her, and that was how she found herself tucked away in the guild’s infirmary.  _

_ The door opened, and Erza was about to complain to the master that  _ really, _ she was  _ fine, _ but she stopped herself when she saw it wasn’t him.  _

_ Lisanna crept inside, clutching a small bowl to her chest.  _

_ Erza frowned. While Lisanna was a very sweet girl, she often stayed away from Erza, on account of her older sister’s apparent grudge against her. So why was she here? Had the Master sent her to make sure Erza was actually still resting?  _

_ “Hi, Erza,” she said. “I heard you weren’t feeling well.”  _

_ Erza frowned. “I feel fine!”  _

_ Lisanna laughed. “You know, you’re a lot like big sister Mira. I wonder if that’s why you two don’t like each other very much.”  _

_ Erza glared. “I don’t like Mirajane because she always picks fights! And I’m not sick! What do you want?”  _

_ She set the bowl on the end table next to her bed. “Me and Elf made some soup, and I thought it might help you feel better.”  _

_ “Whatever,” she sniffed, turning her head away.  _

_ Lisanna smiled at her, then left her alone.  _

_ And though she denied it, she ate every bit of the soup she was given, and it was delicious.  _

* * *

Eventually, Erza left Mirajane and Elfman alone to grieve. She knew they needed it. That… and well, she wanted a bit of alone time as well, before she went to go hunt down Natsu and make sure he wasn’t hurting himself or anyone else. 

Maybe it was what happened to Simon and Jellal just a few days ago that had her feeling so raw, her and Lisanna hadn’t even been close, but she felt sick thinking about what happened to the sweet girl. 

The sweet girl who hadn’t deserved that. Who had her whole life ahead of her. 

Erza sighed and tried wiping the rain from her face to no avail. 

“Erza! I’ve been looking for you!” Wendy ran up to the park bench she sat on. She was soaked from the rain, and an equally as soggy Charle trailed behind her. 

“What do you need?” Erza asked, hoping she didn’t look as tired and dejected as she felt. 

“I just… I didn’t want to be alone,” she admitted, sitting on the bench next to her. “You know how Natsu gets today… And I don’t know, besides Natsu, you’re the one I feel best with.” 

Erza pulled her closer. “Of course. You can come find me anytime.” 

Charle crawled into their laps. “I told you she wouldn’t mind, Wendy.” 

She ran her fingers through Wendy’s hair, doing her best not to snag them on the wet tangles. 

Lisanna had been Wendy’s first experience with death, and it had come much too soon for both girls. 

* * *

_ "Hey Natsu, you’re kinda like the dad!” Lisanna exclaimed.  _

_ Natsu nearly dropped the egg. “What are you talking about?” he demanded. He wasn’t a dad! He wasn’t old enough to be one!  _

_ “Well,” she said. “You’re the dad, I’m the mom, and this egg is like our baby.”  _

_ “Oh…” He set the egg down. “I guess that makes sense…”  _

* * *

_ “Natsu, Natsu, I’m fine.”  _

_ “No you’re not!” he protested. “It’s my fault! My fault! I hurt you!” He nosed at her cheek, sniffing her, checking for injuries.  _

_ He was the one who convinced her to show him the footprints and not wait until morning, who got upset and lost her in the woods. It was  _ his _ fault that monster got her. Who knew what would have happened if Gildarts hadn’t shown up.  _

_ “Natsu, let her up,” Gildarts said.  _

_ He shook his head. “Mm mm!” He pressed himself closer to her, holding her as tightly as he could. She almost  _ died!  _ He couldn’t let her go after that.  _

_ Lisanna began to squirm. “Natsu, please.”  _

_ He growled.  _

_ Gildarts grabbed the back of his vest and yanked him away from Lisanna. “Natsu! Cut it out!”  _

_ He thrashed and snarled. “Let me go! I have to keep her safe!”  _

_ Gildarts set him down, but held him by the shoulders so he couldn’t run back to Lisanna. “You’re scaring her,” he said, leveling a glare at him.  _

_ “Huh?”  _

_ He pointed towards Lisanna, whose eyes were wide and brimming with tears. “Y-Your eyes…” she whispered.  _

_ Natsu quit struggling. She was scared. Not of the monster. Of  _ him! _ _

_ As soon as Gildarts let go of him, he ran.  _

_ “Natsu!” he shouted, trying to grab him again.  _

_ He only stopped when he was far enough away that he couldn’t hear Gildarts or Lisanna shouting for him anymore. He curled up in a clump of ferns, hands digging into his hair.  _

_ He’d smelt Lisanna’s fear, but he assumed she was scared of the monster. How could she be scared of him? What had he done? He’d just tried to protect her, keep her safe…  _

_ Was it because he growled? But that wasn’t at her! He tried to avoid growling around normal people, but it was hard sometimes. Was it because he smelled her? She’d never been scared of that before, though!  _

_ At some point he began crying. He didn’t want to scare anyone!  _ Especially  _ Lisanna!  _

_ “Natsu?”  _

_ He stiffened and tried to wipe the tears off his face. “You should go home, Lisanna. It’s not safe out here.”  _

_ “But what about you?” she asked, settling down next to him.  _

_ He grunted. “I’m fine out here.”  _

_ Lisanna patted his head. “I promise you don’t scare me.”  _

_ “Yeah I do!” he argued, scrambling into a sitting position. “I can smell it!”  _

_ She frowned. “Well… maybe I was a little scared…” she admitted. “You just seemed so angry, and you were growling and your eyes went all funny. They looked like a cat’s! Or… or a dragon…”  _

_ He curled in on himself.  _

_ “I-I know you wouldn’t hurt me,” she continued. “But it was scary. You’re scary, Natsu. But that’s not a bad thing. Big sister Mira is scary, but I still love her. And I’m not  _ always _ scared of you.” She pulled him into a hug. “I’m not scared of you now. And I don’t want to be scared of you, it’ll just take some getting used to. But I’m not scared of Mira anymore. And you think Erza is scary, don’t you?”  _

_ Natsu froze, then nodded. “Yeah…”  _

_ “See, and she’s really important to you. I know you love her,” she said as she rested her chin on top of his head. “I’m sorry I upset you. I’ll try to be better.”  _

_ “Not your fault…” he said. “ _ I’m _ sorry. I’m the one who scared you. That’s  _ my _ fault.” He knew he wasn’t normal, that his magic made him think and do weird things. Of course he was going to freak people out.  _

_ “Come on.” She stood up and offered him her hand. “It doesn’t matter, and Gildarts is probably worried about you.”  _

_ “Okay…” He let her pull him up.  _

_ As they walked through the woods, she said, “And thank you, for trying to protect me.”  _

* * *

It wasn’t surprising to find Natsu out by the river where he and Lisanna used to go fishing, yelling and hitting things. Actually, it was pretty much exactly what Gray expected. 

Normally, he also lit a lot of things on fire, but at least he was smart enough to not be doing that. 

“You’re going to break your hand someday, doing stuff like this,” he said. 

Natsu snarled, glancing over his shoulder at him. “So what?” 

Gray shook his head. “It’ll hurt?” 

Natsu glared at him, but it didn’t have much heat. He flopped down into the soggy grass, dangling his feet over the river bank. “What are you doing out here?” 

“Making sure you’re not breaking your hands.” Gray sat down next to him. “Did you actually go visit her grave, or are you just out here being self destructive?” 

He huffed. “Why would I go visit her grave? She’s not even there. There was no damn body.” 

Gray grimaced. “Trust me, it would help.” There was no grave for his parents, no grave for Ur, just the ruins of a village. He could never count how many times he had wished they had graves somewhere he could visit. 

“But she’d still be gone…” he whispered. “If I go there, it just proves she’s gone.” 

_ Oh… _ He knew Natsu had never actually visited Lisanna’s grave. He hadn’t even come to the funeral, and it took a long while for Mirajane and Elfman to forgive him for that. Gray always assumed it was some kind of denial, but he hadn’t realized it was that bad. “She  _ is _ gone, and you’re never going to be able to move on if you don’t accept that.” 

He bared his teeth, growling, and for a second Gray thought he was going to throw a punch, but then his shoulders slumped and he let out a sob. “I don’t want to move on! I want her back!” 

“Yeah, I know.” He rubbed his shoulder. He didn’t pretend to know exactly what Natsu’s relationship with Lisanna had been. No one did. Gray wasn’t even sure the pair themselves had known. But he did know they were close. Close in way that Natsu just wasn’t with himself and Erza, and well… Gray had never really had that with anyone, so he wasn’t quite sure how to comfort him. “But… there’s not a way to do that, and I’m sorry.”

Natsu pulled his knees up to his chest. “Yeah…” 

Gray decided Natsu was probably better off left alone. If he wanted to talk to someone, he’d find someone. As he was walking away, he thought he heard him mutter, “Everyone always leaves eventually…”

Gray clenched his fists, but he knew the words weren’t meant to be heard, so he kept walking. 

* * *

_ “Aw! No fair!” Natsu whined. “You’re going on an S-class quest?”  _

_ Lisanna laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get to go on one eventually. And besides, it’s more Mira and Elf that are doing the S-class stuff, I’m just tagging along.”  _

_ He crossed his arms and pouted. “Still not fair.” _

_ She slung her arm around his shoulder. “Oh? Well I tell you what, as soon as I’m an S-class wizard, I’ll invite you along as my sidekick on my first S-class quest.”  _

_ Natsu nuzzled her cheek. “You really think you’ll be S-class before me?” He laughed. “There’s no way, Lis!”  _

_ She let go of him, skipping away, turning to wave. “I’ll be back soon!”  _

_ Natsu smiled. He knew she’d do great on an S-class quest. “Yeah, you better. Happy’s been complainin’ about how we never go fishing together anymore.”  _

_ Her smile widened. “We’ll go when I get back, okay?”  _

_ He nodded. “Bye, Lisanna!”  _

* * *

“Heard what happened. She was your girl, right?” Gajeel asked. It hadn’t been hard to find his siblings' house. At first he wasn’t going to, but Wendy talked him into it, convinced somehow that he would provide more comfort than she could, for some god forsaken reason. 

“Get out of here, Gajeel,” Natsu growled, still soaking wet, so he must have just gotten home. 

“Wendy sent me to check on you,” he said. 

“Well I’m fine, and I don’t want you in my house, so leave.” He glared at him, fire blazing in his eyes. 

Gajeel glanced around the little house. It was messy, and not the nicest, but Wendy told him that Natsu and her had built it themselves several years ago, so he really shouldn’t have expected it to be very nice. It smelled mostly of his siblings, but beneath their scent lingered the ice mage’s, the redhead’s, and Mirajane’s. “Y’er worrying Wendy.” 

“She’ll be fine,” he muttered. “Everyone’s a little worked up today.” 

Gajeel shoved his hands into his pockets. Maybe letting Natsu decide when he wanted to talk to him wasn’t the best decision. He’d probably never get anywhere that way. “How’d she die?” 

Natsu tensed, and Gajeel thought he wasn’t going to answer, then he said, “There was an accident on a quest. Her brother’s magic went out of control, and…” He fell onto the couch. 

“That’s rough,” he said. “So you weren’t even around?” 

He shook his head. 

“Sorry.” He wanted to pull him close, hold him, comfort him, but he knew Natsu didn’t want that, so he restrained himself. 

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.” 

It did. It so clearly did, but there was nothing to be done about it. “Talk to Wendy later. She’s upset too, you know,” he said. “And I didn’t know her, but I doubt she’d want ya moping around like this. No girl you were interested in would be like that.” Then he left. 

* * *

_ “No…” Natsu whispered.  _

_ Master Makarov had been the one to break the news of Lisanna’s death to Gray, Erza, and Natsu.  _

_ Gray didn’t know what to think. He knew jobs could be dangerous. Hell, he’d had a few brushes with death himself, but… Lisanna wasn’t supposed to die that way. She didn’t like fighting, she didn’t want to die like that. Anyone but sweet Lisanna.  _

_ “Gramps, you gotta be jokin.’ You just have to be,” Natsu said, voice shaking. “Lisanna… she’s not… she can’t be…”  _

_ “Natsu…” Master Makarov said. “I’m sorry.”  _

_ The dragon slayer shook his head. “No. No!”  _

_ Erza was already crying, Gray just felt numb.  _

_ “Lisanna…” Natsu’s voice cracked. The air grew hotter and hotter, causing Gray to leap backwards, not wanting to get caught in the explosion that was definitely coming.  _

_ Natsu stormed out of the guildhall, the heat continuing to build. As soon as he made it out the door and to the dark, empty streets, the fire exploded, brilliant light flashing through all the windows.  _

_ And Natsu roared. It wasn’t a scream, or a wail. It wasn’t even the growls and snarls Gray had grown used to.  _

_ Natsu  _ roared. _ _

_ And it shook Gray to his core.  _

* * *

Mirajane wasn’t sure why, but as the sun set, she found herself returning to the cemetery. 

She didn’t normally come here alone, if Erza wasn’t with her, than Elfman was, but she wanted to visit Lisanna by herself. 

But someone else was already there. 

She frowned, creeping closer.  _ Natsu?  _ But Natsu never came to the cemetery. “Oh, hey Mira,” he said, eyes still glued to the tombstone. 

“Hi, Natsu,” she said, standing next to him. 

After a few moments of silence he said, “Just thought I’d come tell her hi…” 

More tears slipped down her cheeks. “I’m sure she misses you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back to the action now, folks!


	17. Worst Research Trip Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levy heads back to the capital for more research, but this time with a much larger and less controllable group. However, by the time the day's over, she might be glad they came along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the support this fic has been getting! (It's honestly why I update so much, haha). I hope you enjoy this chapter. I certainly had fun writing it

“This sucks!” Natsu whined as he flopped across the table, landing face down in a book. “Reading is so  _ boring!”  _

Cana whacked the back of his head with a book. “Shut up! I have a headache.” 

“No,” Loke grumbled. “You have a hangover. Because you just  _ had _ to go out and party last night.” 

Natsu jumped up and got in Cana’s face. “You wanna fight!?” 

“I just said I had a headache!” she shouted back as she flicked his forehead. 

Erza grabbed Natsu and shoved him back in his seat. “No fighting.” 

He whined again. 

Levy sighed. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea…. 

After the last breakthrough, the Master thought it might be a good idea to travel back to the capital’s library, this time with the intention of trying to find the most recent records of dragons. It was a good idea, until it was suggested they bring more than just their original group this time to help with the research. 

Levy suggested they bring Juvia, since she was a hard worker and close with Gajeel, and Erza, since she seemed to be going stir crazy being unable to help her friends. And well… things had spiraled from there. Erza refused to go anywhere without Natsu and Gray, not trusting them to stay out of trouble, and if Natsu came, that meant Wendy came. 

But that was fine. Levy could live with that. Natsu and Gray would probably be a bit of a distraction, but not too bad. Not to mention she got what she wanted, which was Juvia and Erza, plus Wendy, who was actually rather good at this kind of thing. 

But then it spiraled even further when Cana refused to stay at the guildhall and bartend while Mirajane was gone (even after it was pointed out that she didn’t  _ have _ to do that), which of course lead to Loke tagging along (despite the fact that they seemed to be fighting at the moment), and  _ that _ lead to the pair dragging Lucy along. 

Which left Levy with the most unruly group of researchers she’d ever had the pleasure of dealing with. It’d only been a day, and she was pretty sure the librarians were on the verge of banning them for life. Not that she could blame them, after Loke, Gray, and Cana had knocked over a bookshelf, Natsu had sneezed and disintegrated an ancient,  _ priceless _ book on magic techniques, and Erza stabbed three books for not providing the information she wanted, all within the first hour of being at the library. 

“Bet y’er missin’ me as your only study buddy,” Gajeel said. 

Levy sighed. “At least you were quiet. And Mirajane helped too.” 

He smirked. “I was the one who figured it out though.” 

She smiled, unable to dispute the claim. “Yeah, okay. And… they’re being kind of helpful. They’re just a little slow and loud.” Emphasis on  _ loud.  _

“You would think books on dragons would be at least kind of interesting, but these might be more boring than going through my family’s financial records,” Lucy complained. 

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Juvia said. “At least it’s something to do.” 

Levy chewed at her lip. Perhaps if she separated everyone… or put them in carefully chosen pairs that would help keep everyone busy. Because everyone sitting at one table was  _ not _ working. 

She snatched a small piece of paper and began scribbling down who she thought might work well with each other. 

Mirajane peered over her shoulder. “Whatcha up to, Lev?” 

Levy jumped. “N-Nothing. Just trying to partner everyone up. I think we might work faster if we’re not in a big group like this.” 

She smirked. “Ooo! Let me help! I’m really good at this. I help people find partners for jobs all the time.” She slid into the chair next to her. 

Levy supposed that was true, so she handed her the piece of paper. “Sure.” 

And that was how she found herself seated across from Gajeel. 

Great. 

* * *

Juvia hid her face behind a book. She could feel her cheeks burning, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Mirajane had done this one purpose. 

She remembered crawling into Gray’s lap while she was drunk, and telling him he was pretty. And yes, while he  _ was _ very pretty, and Juvia really liked him, well, you couldn’t just  _ tell _ people that. Especially people like Gray. 

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to remember the incident. Or if he did, he hadn’t brought it up. But that didn’t mean she wanted to risk it. 

“Hey look at this, it says something about a black dragon that no one can kill.” Gray slid the book across the little table they sat at. “What do you think? If no one can kill it, it could still be around, right?” 

Reluctantly, Juvia set her own book down. “Maybe…”

* * *

“I’m going to kill myself!” Cana whined. 

“Oh, Miss Cana, no you’re not,” Wendy said. “Don’t talk like that.” She peered over the top of her book and squinted at the card mage’s book. “That’s not about dragons.” 

Cana flipped a page. “What about it?” 

“That’s on celestial spirits,” she murmured. 

“Yeah, what about it?” she repeated, narrowing her eyes. 

“Nothing,” Wendy squeaked, burying her nose in her book again. If Cana wanted to read about celestial spirits, she could read about celestial spirits. After all, it wasn’t like they had asked her to come read books on dragons. She’d pretty much decided to come of her own accord. 

Still, Wendy couldn’t help but think it was a little odd. 

* * *

Lucy hadn’t really talked to Natsu since he’d first brought her to Fairy Tail, and well, she couldn’t help but be a little relieved that she wasn’t involved in his life. She’d heard about what he and his friends had been up to, the whole guild had, but well… seeing him up close, working with him, even just  _ researching, _ showed just how much of a disaster the dragon slayer truly was. 

She never would have expected it, based on the public image of him. (Actually, that could be said for literally any of the Fairy Tail wizards). Even the way he’d presented himself when they met wasn’t quite accurate. Sure, like everyone claimed, he was pretty carefree, had a destructive streak, was kind, but sorta dumb, and while that was all true to a certain degree, he was a lot more layered than that. 

And honestly, it surprised her. 

He was caring, and Lucy had the sneaking suspicion that a good chunk of the time he was just  _ playing _ at being dumb. And sure, while he had a temper, he did his best to keep it under control most of the time. 

He was also looking less human by the day, and Lucy did her best to not stare, but well… It was hard, when he looked so different than he had a mere month and a half ago. 

Red scales lined his face and speckled his arms. His eyes had slit pupils more often than not now. She was pretty sure his fangs had gotten bigger, and even more of his teeth had been replaced with them. Even his ears looked like they were beginning to point. As he scratched at the scales on his face, she noticed his fingernails were looking a lot more like claws. 

He looked like a monster out of a story. 

(Not that Gajeel and Gray were faring any better in that department). 

He also looked very scraggly and exhausted, but she had a feeling that was mostly due to the stress. 

Keeping him focused was an absolute  _ nightmare _ though. “Hey, Natsu. Quit staring out the window,” she said. 

“Huh? Sorry, Luigi.” He picked his book back up. 

She sighed. There was really no point in trying to get him to remember her name. 

“Hey did Wendy ever give you that key we got?” he asked. 

“Oh, oh yeah!” Out of habit, she patted the pouch she kept her keys in. “Thank you for that, by the way.” 

“Mmhm.” He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I bet Loke likes havin’ you around. He can see his old friends.” 

Lucy’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?” 

“You know, he can see the other celestial spirits again,” he said. 

It took a second, but when the words clicked— “Loke’s a  _ celestial spirit?”  _ she shrieked. 

Natsu cocked his head. “Uh… yeah? Geez Lucy, how dumb are you?” 

She growled, causing him to laugh at her. “Which one is he?” she demanded. “There’s not any named Loke, I don’t think. And why is he here? Does someone in Fairy Tail have a contract with him?” 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. He just showed up several years ago.” 

She frowned. She was  _ definitely _ going to have to talk to him about this. 

* * *

“I know you had something to do with this,” Erza whispered in Mirajane’s ear. “I’m just confused as to why you didn’t put Cana and Lucy together.” 

Mirajane giggled. “Please. I know what I’m doing, Erz.” Lucy and Cana needed a bit of time apart, after their drunken fun the other night. Besides, Natsu, ever the tactless Natsu, was probably revealing Loke’s identity to the celestial spirit mage already, and Mirajane knew Loke hadn’t told Lucy he was celestial spirit yet. And if she, Loke, and Cana were ever going to get themselves sorted out, she needed to know that. 

Not to mention she’d gotten Juvia and Gray together, which was her main priority. Gajeel and Levy were a fun little bonus. She wasn’t quite sure where she thought that relationship might be headed, but there was already something a little odd between them, and she was curious. 

Loke gave them a look from across the table they shared. “Can you two cool it with the public displays of affection?” 

Erza scoffed. “You’re one to talk. How many times did I have to watch you and Cana grope each other in the guildhall?” 

He rolled his eyes, but didn’t answer. 

“What’s up with you?” Mirajane asked. “You’ve been in a bad mood the past couple days.” 

He frowned. “It’s nothing. Just a spat with Cana.” 

She raised an eyebrow. He had spats with Cana all the time. That couldn’t be all this was. Something was wrong. She turned to Erza for support, but she was as oblivious as ever. “I’m sure you’ll get things worked out!” 

Mirajane had to refrain from tossing her head back and groaning. Erza liked to think she was adept at sensing and judging emotions, and dealing with the affairs of others, but the truth of the matter was, she was utterly hopeless. The only reason she seemed any good at it to herself was because she was better at it than Natsu and Gray, who both had the emotional range of mud. Truly, Mirajane had no idea what to do with her girlfriend at times, and had half a mind to pummel her pair of best friends for leaving Erza with so many weird habits and misplaced pride in abilities she didn’t have. 

If Mirajane didn’t think it was adorable. 

Adorable wasn’t a word many would use to describe Erza Scarlet, Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, but Mirajane didn’t know how else to describe her. 

Erza was adorable, and that was that. 

Even if she was chucking a book halfway across the library in frustration. 

Mirajane just chuckled, and handed her the next one off the pile. 

* * *

“A whole day,” Levy muttered,  _ whined, _ more like. “And all we found was that vague reference to a black dragon Gray showed us.” She trudged behind the bulk of the group on the way back to their hotel in the city.

“Better than three days without a breakthrough…” Gajeel reminded her. 

Levy sighed, and wondered for the millionth time how  _ Gajeel _ was the person she ended up spending most of her time with on the trip so far. And what was weirder, she… didn’t mind it. She didn’t want to get away from him, she didn’t flinch when he moved anymore. 

It was odd. 

He was endearing, in a strange, messy way. 

“I suppose you’re right,” she admitted. Maybe she should stop complaining about more researchers, as unruly as they may be. 

_ “Get down!”  _ Erza and Wendy screamed. 

Rough hands grabbed Levy, and for a terrible second, she was back in that alley, being thrown against a wall, muzzled, and hit, and—

She was pushed, thrown like she weighed no more than a kitten. 

Lightning arced through the air, and Gajeel screamed as the bolts connected with him, where Levy had stood just moments before. 

“Gajeel!” Natsu shouted as Gray held him back. 

Levy stumbled backwards, falling into Cana’s chest.  _ He took a hit for me… A bad one…  _

“Where the hell did that come from?” Loke hissed as he spun around, searching for the culprit. 

“There’s no way…” Mirajane whispered. “Why would he be here? Why would he attack us?” 

Wendy ran forward and kneeled next to her brother. “Gajeel? Gajeel, please wake up.” She shook his shoulders, nosed at his cheek. 

He stirred with a groan, and Levy let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she would have done if he’d just  _ died _ for her. 

Natsu finally broke free of Gray’s hold, racing forward.  _ “LAXUS!”  _ He smacked against a magical barrier, purple runes flaring to life around the group. “Fuck!” 

_ Laxus?  _ But that didn’t make sense! Sure, Laxus could be temperamental, but he wouldn’t attack his guildmates! 

“That bastard,” Cana muttered. “The hell does he think he’s doing? The hell do his  _ lackeys _ think they’re doing?” She nudged Levy away and pulled her cards from her bag. 

As if on cue, Freed appeared on a nearby rooftop, and Levy’s confusion only grew. Why were they attacking them!? 

Erza summoned a sword. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

Natsu continued to yell and pound against the barrier. 

Bixlow and Evergreen hopped into view on nearby rooftops as well. 

The three of them stood silently, poised, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Their eyes were hard, mouths drawn in thin lines. 

Wendy, Loke, and Lucy drug Gajeel back to the group. Erza jerked her sword, and they settled around her, forming loose ranks. Reluctantly, even Natsu stepped back and took up his place on Erza’s right. 

As Levy took up a spot between Loke, whose rings were already glowing, and a snarling Wendy, she wondered how Laxus and the Thunder Legion could be so stupid. 

Slowly but surely, Gajeel was forcing himself back to his feet, though he was unsteady. Lucy grabbed her keys. Erza summoned another sword. Gray shifted into his ice make stance. Cana held her cards out. Juvia rolled her shoulders and raised her fists. Loke and Mirajane settled into fighting stances. The air began to swirl around Wendy. Fire ignited over Natsu’s body. 

Levy smirked. Regardless of reason, the Thunder Legion had just picked a fight with some of Fairy Tail’s most powerful wizards, and she didn’t doubt that they would lose. 

* * *

“Answer me!” Erza shouted. “How dare you attack your guildmates!” 

Bixlow laughed. “He ain’t my guildmate!” He pointed towards Gajeel. “And neither is she, or she!” He shifted his finger to Lucy and Juvia. 

Erza grit her teeth. There was no doubt in her mind that Laxus was behind this, lightning attack aside. While Bixlow, Evergreen, and Freed were odd and could be cruel, she knew they wouldn’t attack their own guildmates. Not without some serious prompting. 

“Loke,” she hissed, quiet enough they wouldn’t hear. “As soon as it’s possible, I want you to break away from us to find the Master. He might be the only one who can talk some sense into them.” 

The celestial spirit gave her a curt nod. “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a smirk. 

“Levy, as discreetly as possible, rewrite Freed’s enchantment. You can do that, right?” she asked. 

Levy nodded. “Hm!” 

Erza shifted her weight, ready to attack. As soon as the barrier was down, all hell was going to break loose. Most of the citizens had already fled the street, sensing the buildup of magical energy that was sure to explode any minute now. 

“Everyone try and stay close,” she said. “And don’t look at their eyes.” She still didn’t quite understand why they were attacking, but she sensed the threat was very real. Thankfully, they knew the Thunder Legion’s tricks, how they fought, but that was the only bright side she could think of. Unlike them, she didn’t  _ want _ to fight her guildmates. Not like this. 

“What’s going on?” Juvia asked. “They’re Fairy Tail members?” 

“Yeah,” Natsu snarled. “I always knew Laxus’d turn traitor someday.” 

Had she a free hand, Erza would have smacked him. He knew no such thing! And even if he did, now certainly wasn’t the time to gloat about it. 

“You don’t know a thing about me, you damn brat.” Laxus waltzed around a corner, hands in his pockets, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. 

Natsu snarled and tried to rush forward, but Erza held her arm out, barring him. 

“What are you doing, Laxus?” she asked. 

The large, blond man approached them, his scowl as disgusted as ever. Erza didn’t think she’d seen him smile since she was a little kid. “Fairy Tail ain’t what it used to be, Erza,” he said. 

She raised an eyebrow. “The hell is that supposed to mean?” 

Somehow, his frown managed to deepen. “You know exactly what I mean. That old geezer lets any damn straggler that comes along join the guild.” His eyes roved over Lucy, Gajeel, and Juvia. “We could be so much better.” 

“Laxus, that doesn’t make any sense!” Mirajane argued. “Makarov would be so disappointed if he knew what you were doing!” 

“I don’t give a damn what he thinks!” Laxus shouted. “I’m here to take the guild from him, and getting rid of the fucking kids he raised and their blind loyalty to him is the first step in doing that! I can’t believe I got lucky enough that you all left Magnolia together.” 

“You’re a real bastard, you know that, right?” Cana spit. “He raised you, too!” 

Laxus scoffed. “No, he was too busy raising  _ you.”  _

Erza turned her attention to Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen. “And you agree with this? You really think he’s right?” 

“I know he’s right about Makarov allowing enemies into our ranks!” Evergreen shouted, glaring at Gajeel. “We heard what he did to Levy.” 

Gajeel flinched, but didn’t reply. 

“You realize that you are attacking us right now, right?” Loke asked, shaking his head. 

“Shut the fuck up, Cat!” Bixlow snapped. “You’re not even fucking human! You don’t got no place here!” 

Loke stuck his tongue out at him. 

“Just a few more seconds, Erza,” Levy whispered, as she discreetly drug her pen down the enchantment’s barrier at her side. 

Erza tightened her grip on her swords. “Me and Natsu will handle Laxus,” she muttered. 

Natsu’s feral grin almost made her change her mind. 

“I want Levy and Mirajane on Freed,” she continued. “Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, handle Evergreen. Juvia, Gray, and Cana, take care of Bixlow. The second the barrier drops, attack. I want this done quick and with as little damage as possible.” The Master would have their hides if they were billed by the capital of Fiore.  _ Especially _ over a civil war such as this. 

Laxus laughed. “You think you and the Salamander can handle me?” 

Erza smirked. “I could handle you on my own, Laxus. I’m just letting Natsu have the satisfaction of driving his fist into your face.” 

Natsu punched his fist into his palm for emphasis. 

The barrier flashed. “It’s down!” Levy shouted. 

Loke dashed off, quicker than any human could hope to run. Evergreen’s wings shot out as she prepared to chase after him, but Wendy’s wing attack had her careening towards a building, slamming her against the side. 

_ “GO!” _ Erza roared. 

True to her prediction, all hell broke loose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a total slut for Erza being like Fairy Tail's general (she def makes them do group training and drills sometimes), and it's one of my favorite headcanons that she organizes them during battle when she gets the chance. 
> 
> Also Cana definitely forced her way into the group so she could look up stuff on celestial spirits for Loke. That is 100% what happened there
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	18. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A clash between Fairy Tail wizards is guaranteed to be disastrous, for everyone involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally all this chapter does it showcase how fucking dumb and self-sacrificing every single Fairy Tail wizard is 
> 
> Also the pacing is a little... wonky.... but hopefully it turned out okay

Lightning and metal don’t mix. 

Gajeel knew that. Of  _ course _ he knew that. His body still ached from the hit he’d taken, especially around his piercings. 

On the bright side, at least it hadn’t affected him that much. It took a few moments to shake off, but he could still fight. 

And he  _ needed _ to fight. He didn’t know shit about this Lucy chick, but Wendy had already used her magic too much. He needed to stop her from using it, anyway he could. 

Being slammed into a wall hadn’t slowed Evergreen down at all. She got back to her feet and glared at them. “Wendy, you little bitch,” she snarled. 

Gajeel’s head snapped up. “The fuck did you just sa—” 

Wendy  _ climbed _ him and slammed her hand over his eyes.  _ “Don’t _ look at her!” she shrieked. “She can turn you to stone!” 

“Get off me!” Gajeel grabbed her and peeled her off himself. 

While they were distracted, Lucy summoned a pink-haired spirit in a maid’s outfit and shackles. Gajeel couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the celestial spirit wizard. “So you into that kind of thing?” 

Lucy’s face turned bright red. “N-No! She just dresses like that!” 

It was easy for Evergreen to avoid the spirit. Her wings really did give her an unfair advantage. She settled back on the roof. “It’s only a matter of time before one of you fucks up and looks me in the eye. So let’s get this over with.” 

Gajeel smirked and closed his eyes. It wasn’t ideal, but he could fight without seeing. His other heightened senses gave him the advantage in that regard. 

Her heard Lucy groan in frustration and close Virgo’s gate. 

“Alright, Gajeel, I’m taking the lead on this one,” Wendy said. 

“What?” he demanded. 

“I can sense the air shift with her movements. I can do this,” she said. “So follow my lead. I promise I know what I’m doing. Lucy, can you provide cover while we attack?” 

“Yeah…” Lucy said, though she sounded just as concerned as Gajeel felt about letting his twelve year old sister take the lead on this. 

“Great!” Wendy said. “Let’s do this.” 

* * *

Freed hopped down from the roof, landing in a delicate pose. 

“Don’t worry, Mira. I can handle this,” Levy said. 

Mirajane’s eyes widened as Levy shifted into an unsteady fighting stance, her bad leg no longer able to support a proper one. “Levy!” 

She knew why Erza paired them together. As much as she didn’t look it, Mirajane  _ was _ an S-class wizard, even if she tried not to use her powers anymore. 

But Erza knew she would protect Levy if it came down to it. And it  _ would _ come down to it. 

Freed sighed. “Miss McGarden, I’d rather not fight someone who can barely stand up straight.” Despite his words, he raised his sword.

“I can fight just  _ fucking _ fine!” Levy snapped. She waved her hand. “Solid script: ice!” 

Mirajane’s jaw dropped. Levy  _ swore?  _

Freed dodged the attack, but that didn’t deter Levy. Her movements were shaky, unstable, but she still managed to move quick enough to dodge major attacks, and even go on the offensive occasionally. 

But it wasn’t enough. Freed was toying with her. “Are you really going to let her do this herself?” he taunted, smirking at Mirajane. 

“I can handle it myself!” Levy shouted, even as she stumbled when she tried to pivot too quickly. “Solid script: steel!” 

A hunk of steel flew threw the air, whacking against Freed’s head, and Mirajane couldn’t help but snicker. 

Freed growled. “If you truly intend to let Miss McGarden fight for you, I’m afraid I have no other choice.” He surged forward and slammed his hand against Levy’s chest. She stumbled backwards, falling onto the pavement as purple runes flared to life on her chest. 

“I am sorry,” he said. “But sometimes pain is the only way.” 

The runes glowed, and Levy  _ screamed.  _ She threw her head back as her spine arched and limbs spasmed. 

“Levy!” Mirajane rushed forward and kneeled next to her. “Freed! Stop this! She’s your  _ friend!”  _

Across the street, Gajeel whipped around.  _ “Levy!”  _

“Stay focused!” Wendy scolded as she aimed an attack at Evergreen. “Miss Mirajane can handle this.” 

“She brought this on herself by not surrendering, though she knew she couldn’t win,” Freed said. He began murmuring, and Levy’s screams grew louder and more ragged. 

“ _ Please!” _ Mirajane begged. “She was just protecting me!” 

He ignored her. 

Mirajane screamed, even louder than Levy, and let her magic out. 

* * *

Bixlow was crazy. Cana knew better than most (they’d had a fun fling several years ago). But this was over the top, even for him.

“Really, Bix?” she asked as she twirled around his infernal objects-stuffed-with-souls (Cana  _ refused _ to call them “babies”), and tossing cards at him whenever she got the chance. “You so far up Laxus’s ass that you’ll pull this shit? I didn’t know you were as bad as Freed!” 

He laughed. “You’re as bitchy as ever, Cana. Glad to see that things don’t change.” 

She snarled and whipped another three cards towards him. 

“And Gray!” He sent his minions towards the ice mage. “What happened to you, man? You got weird tattoos and a fake eye?” 

Gray snarled, not deigning to actually reply. He got in close enough to try and hit Bixlow, but he easily dodged. “Not using magic either? That’s pretty ballsy of you!” he said. “The hell  _ happened _ to you?” 

“Gray, get out of the way!” Juvia shouted. 

“Wha—” 

_ “Water nebula!”  _ A torrent of water exploded from Juvia’s hands, careening into Bixlow and sending him stumbling backwards a few paces. 

Gray didn’t get out of the way fast enough, leaving him soaked. “Juvia! What the hell!?” 

Her cheeks reddened. “Oh, I’m sorry, Gray!” 

Cana couldn’t help but laugh as Gray peeled his soaked shirt off and Juvia squeaked and jerked away. She wondered how long it would take for Gray to notice the water mage’s very obvious crush. 

Bixlow coughed and sputtered as the water dissipated with Juvia’s distraction. He took advantage of Cana’s fit of laughter, sending his minions to converge around her. 

“Cana!” Juvia rushed forward, shoving her out of the way just as the blast of magic energy hit. 

Juvia grit her teeth, forcing back a scream, and went rigid beneath the attack, before collapsing. 

“Juvia!” Cana kneeled next to her while Gray kept Bixlow distracted. 

She stirred. 

Cana let out a sigh of relief. “You damn Phantom Lord rejects,” she hissed. “You both really that determined to prove you’re loyal?” She shook her head. Taking hits like that was fucking ridiculous. 

She stood back up and readied her cards. “Alright, Bixlow. It’s time to quit screwin’ around.” 

* * *

Believe it or not, Erza had never actually fought Laxus before. 

When they were younger, she’d suggested it a few times, sparring practice and whatnot, and he always shot her down, claiming he didn’t  _ need _ the practice, which Erza found incredibly haughty. 

Natsu and Gray had  _ tried _ fighting him a few times, by dragging him into guildhall brawls, but he never let it go far, either refusing to fight back or simply leaving until the brawl had ended. 

That being said, Laxus had never fought Erza either. 

And she could use that to her advantage. 

His lightning attacks could be limited with her lightning empress armor, and with Natsu as backup, she had no doubt that they would come out on top. 

What concerned her was the collateral damage that would come with three of Fairy Tail’s top wizards duking it out. Not to mention the other wizards that were fighting as well. 

Natsu leapt at Laxus the second the barrier dropped, lighting anything nearby ablaze with his attack. 

Laxus scoffed, but for the first time, engaged the dragon slayer. 

Erza groaned in frustration as they traded blows, fire and lightning arcing all over the capital, destroying whatever unfortunate buildings it came into contact with. 

Thankfully, it didn’t hinder anyone else with their fights, but that was just because Fairy Tail was used to fighting in extreme conditions. 

“Natsu! You’re in the way!” she shouted. How was she supposed to attack when her best friend was so close to her target? 

“I got this, Erza!” he snarled, just before getting thrown into a wall. 

_ “ERZA!”  _ Levy screeched. 

She whipped around, and her heart sank. She was going to have to trust Natsu with this one. “If you let him beat you, I’m going to kill you, Natsu!” she shouted as she turned on her heel. “Just hang on Mira!” 

* * *

When she was younger, some of the guild members asked Wendy if she was jealous of Natsu’s power. She was confused, because her and Natsu had the  _ same _ power as dragon slayers. 

Then they clarified that they meant his fire power. Because, well, when compared to fire, air just seemed so useless. 

Wendy would never be able to explain to them how wrong they were. 

Yes, fire was often flashier, and could be used in creative ways, and was definitely a lot better at making enemies fear for their lives, but… 

Air was  _ everywhere.  _

No one could escape the air. The skies were her domain, she knew who was there and she controlled them. 

Air was around you, shifting with your every moment. Air was inside your lungs, keeping you alive. 

Wendy controlled the air, and everything around her enemies. 

She felt Evergreen’s every move, every  _ twitch.  _ She sensed the small ebb and flow with each breath she took, as the air entered her lungs and swirled around. 

Grandine scolded her brothers when they made fun of her magic, teasing her because what was  _ air _ supposed to do? 

_ Air is for clever little girls who realize its potential,  _ Grandine had told her.  _ The boys have to have loud, shiny magic because they’re not smart enough to use what you have.  _

Even with her eyes closed, Wendy knew exactly what happened around her. She could smell it, hear it,  _ feel _ it. 

Evergreen danced around Lucy’s whip and Gajeel’s iron blows. Across the street, Mirajane activated her takeover magic. On the roofs, Bixlow had Gray and Cana on the ropes. Erza and Natsu tag teamed Laxus, but were getting nowhere with their attacks. 

She sensed the pressure around Lucy change as she looked into Evergreen’s eyes. A mistake that was inevitable, since she couldn’t close them and rely on other senses. Her body hardened and froze, becoming stone. 

“Shit!” Gajeel hissed. 

“Don’t worry,” Wendy assured him. “I’ve got this.” She cracked her knuckles. “Just watch me.” 

“Wendy!” he protested. 

She laughed. “Come on, you’ve gotta let me show off how much better I’ve gotten sometime!” She wasn’t his tiny little sister that needed protecting anymore. 

Before he could protest again, she settled back on her heels, then shot forward, landing a heavy kick to Evergreen’s gut. She stumbled backwards with a wheeze. 

“Sky dragon wing attack!” Wendy shouted before Evergreen could recover. 

She flew backwards, slamming into a wall, cracking the bricks. She gasped for air, but Wendy ripped it away before Evergreen managed to pull it inside her. 

She slid down the wall, coughing and gasping. Wendy released the air, and Evergreen took in a deep, panicked breath, just as Wendy surged forward and punched her across the jaw, leaving her to slump forward, unconscious. 

Wendy finally opened her eyes, to discover Gajeel gaping at her. She smiled, placing her hands on her hips. “See! I told you I knew what I was doing.” 

“You—You—” He shook his head. “Alright, I admit, that was pretty badass, you little brat. Did you  _ suffocate _ her?” 

Her smile turned sheepish as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah… I try not to do it because it’s so cruel, but Miss Erza said to end this as quickly as possible so I thought I had better.” 

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. “Remind me never to piss you off.” 

She laughed, turning to jump back into the fray. 

Then Cana fell from the roof, landing flat on her back, unmoving, as blood leaked from her broken body. 

* * *

“Master!” Loke exclaimed, panting as he leaned over, hands resting on his knees. “There’s uh, probably something you wanna deal with.” 

The Master raised an eyebrow, then excused himself from the other council members. “What is it, Loke?” 

“Your bastard of a grandson ambushed us, and there’s a good chance the capital is being demolished as we speak,” he said. There was no point in trying to sugar coat it. 

_ “What?”  _

* * *

Gray took up a defensive stance over Juvia’s unconscious body. He didn’t want to risk using his magic, so letting Cana go on the offensive was the best decision, as much as it irritated him. 

He still couldn’t believe Juvia had taken that blow. She was one of their heaviest hitters at the moment. How could she be so  _ stupid?  _ Cana would have been fine! 

Cana’s scream shook him from his thoughts as Bixlow kicked her off the roof. She scrabbled for the ledge, but ultimately grabbed nothing, landing on the cobblestone below with a horrific  _ crack!  _

Wendy screamed. 

Something dark and angry unfurled in Gray’s chest. Bixlow had just kicked Cana off a  _ roof. _ And if the panicked screams below were any indication, she  _ wasn’t _ okay. 

He’d just  _ hurt _ Cana. Brash, confident, loud  _ Cana, _ who didn’t just  _ get hurt.  _

Gray was going to freeze that smug look off the bastard’s face. 

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Fullbuster,” Bixlow said. “You finally ready to get serious?” 

_ Demonic transformation be damned!  _ “Ice make lance!” Gray grit his teeth through the pain as the mark crawled over his skin once again, trailing down his torso and up his neck. The ice materialized, rocketing towards Bixlow. 

“There we go!” he said as he dodged the attack. “We both know you’re a damn powerful wizard, so start acting like it!” 

Gray shouted in frustration as he sent attack after attack towards Bixlow, all of which he dodged. 

Tears pricked at his eyes as the pain intensified. Well, his  _ eye _ , only the one that was normal, remained  _ human.  _ Could demons not cry? 

It didn’t matter. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. 

Finally, the pain became too much and he fell to his knees, hand pressed to his chest, as if he could hold back the marking by touch alone. Dread pooled in his gut as he realized the pain had reached his jaw. The marking was finally making its way to his face. 

Bixlow swaggered towards him, a cocky grin plastered across his face. “Now what the hell is up with  _ you?” _ he asked as he kicked him over, planting his foot on Gray’s chest. 

Gray hissed and tried to shove Bixlow off him, but his body was still shaky and weak. 

“Maybe I’ll shove you over the edge too,” he said as he cocked his head. “It’d be funny as hell to watch that pink-haired idiot implode when his best friend’s head is cracked open by the pavement. Oooo, I bet that’d get Erza real pissed too. Now  _ that _ would be a fun fight.” 

Somehow, Gray was more pissed about Bixlow trying to hurt Natsu and Erza emotionally than he was about being thrown off the goddamn roof. “If you do anything to them I swear to  _ god!” _

“Huh?” Bixlow leaned down. “What are you gonna do about it?” 

The dark thing in Gray’s chest grew. 

“You can’t do anything to protect the pair of them,” he continued to taunt. “You’ve always been the weakest out of your little trio. And after I’m done with you, I’m gonna move on to that dumbass dragon and Titania bitch.” 

“I’ll kill you,” he snarled, too angry to notice that his voice had taken on an inhuman quality. “I’ll fucking  _ kill you!”  _

Bixlow jerked back, startled by the sudden anger and hatred that radiated from the ice mage, and that was all Gray needed. 

He shoved upwards, sending Bixlow careening backwards. Within seconds, their positions were reversed, and Gray made sure to put just as much weight on Bixlow’s chest as he had put on his. 

He flicked his fingers, and this time there was no pain when he created the sword of ice. The ice had taken on an almost purple sheen, and was so cold frost crept over Gray’s hand. “What were you saying, Bixlow?” The grin on his face was wide and feral. 

Bixlow gasped a quiet command, and his toys blasted the sword out of Gray’s hand. He scoffed, and encased them in a wall of ice. “We’re well past that,” he muttered. He cocked his head, hair falling into his face. “You threatened something that wasn’t yours.” 

His shoulders shook as he began to laugh. Quietly at first, but it soon grew loud and wild. 

“Hey, woah man—” Bixlow tried to get up, but couldn’t budge him. 

Gray punched him, his helmet crumpling beneath his fist. “You thought you could take from a  _ demon?”  _

Bixlow’s eyes grew wide as the helmet flew off with another hit. 

Another and blood burst from his nose. 

Gray’s laughter grew crazier and crazier with each hit. Blood splattered against his hands and face. 

“Gray!” someone shouted, but it didn’t register as his name. 

Bixlow had long since gone limp, face slack and bloody. 

“Gray!” Soft arms wrapped around his chest. “Stop this! You’re going to kill him!” 

He froze, fist already pulled back for another hit. His chest heaved, frost and cold air escaping him with each breath, eerily similar to the smoke that Natsu breathed. 

“I know you don’t want to kill him…” the voice said, soft and soothing. “So stop this now. He can’t hurt anyone else.” 

Slowly, he lowered his arm and pushed himself away from Bixlow’s body. 

“There we go.” Juvia shifted around him so she could sit in front of him, a hand still resting on his shoulder. “You’re not a demon, Gray. Not really. Don’t let it consume you.” 

He took a deep, shuddering breath as the anger began to fade away. His eyes widened as he realized what he’d done. “Juvia!” 

“Sh, sh,” she soothed. “You didn’t mean to.” Warily, she removed her hand, seemingly pleased when he didn’t react. “You’re okay now.” 

Tears built up in his eye. “I almost  _ killed _ him.” 

She shook her head. “But you didn’t. And that’s what matters.” 

* * *

Mirajane hadn’t used her takeover magic since Lisanna had died, afraid once more of what it meant, what it turned her into. 

If it could change Elfman so much, who didn’t even become a demon, what might it do to her one day? 

But fear for Levy was stronger than fear of her magic. 

Freed was smart enough to skitter backwards as she transformed. 

Activating her Satan Soul spell was almost like stretching after a nice, long nap. As her wings unfurled and her body shifted, Mirajane felt more free than she had since Lisanna’s death, as if her human body had been suffocating her. 

With Freed distracted and shifting into his own monstrous form, the runes on Levy vanished, leaving her gasping and shaking. 

Mirajane rushed forward, shoving Freed through a building. His wings snapped out and he shot into the sky. With a smirk, Mirajane followed. 

“Evil explosion!” She thrusted her hands forward, sending the dark energy careening towards Freed. 

He couldn’t dodge in time. He couldn’t dodge  _ any _ of her attacks in time, be they magical or physical. 

So he fled. 

A rather stupid move, really. Mirajane was a hunter, and she wouldn’t let her quarry go so easily. Not when he had angered her. 

It didn’t take long to catch him, forcing him to the ground, shoving his face against the pavement. She relished the fear in his eyes, licking her lips, drawing her fist back, preparing to shove her talons through his chest. 

_ “ERZA!”  _ Levy screamed. 

Mirajane drove her claws down. 

They crushed armor, tore flesh, slickened with blood. 

But not Freed’s. 

Erza laid beneath Mirajane’s talons, shielding Freed’s body with her own. Her claws dug into her side, armor cracking around them. 

Mirajane wailed and tried to rip her claws out, but Levy jerked over and grabbed her wrist. “Stop! She’ll bleed out quicker if you do that!” 

“Why… why would you…” Freed whispered, shifting back to his normal form. 

“It wasn’t for you,” Erza hissed, never breaking eye contact with Mirajane. “I knew you’d… never forgive yourself… if you killed him.” 

Tears streamed down Mirajane’s cheeks. “And you thought I would forgive myself for killing  _ you?”  _

“Wendy, as soon as you’re finished with Cana, get over here!” Levy shouted, finally letting go of Mirajane’s wrist. 

Erza chuckled, then winced, coughing up a mouthful of blood. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to kill me.” 

“You’re an idiot,” Mirajane sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut. “A  _ fucking _ idiot.” 

“Mira!” Erza scolded, slumping back against Freed. “Don’t swear, it’s a bad habit.” 

“Like you’re one to talk,” she argued, desperately trying to ignore the way Erza’s insides squished against her talons. 

Erza didn’t answer, and Mirajane’s eyes snapped open. “Erza?” 

Her eyes were closed, blood dribbled down her chin. 

_ “Erza!”  _ Mirajane wailed. 

* * *

They’d been fighting long enough for everything else to go to shit, and Natsu still hadn’t landed a good hit. And Laxus, well, Natsu wouldn’t say they were  _ good, _ but… his head hurt. So did his chest. And his stomach. 

Okay,  _ maybe _ Laxus had landed a few good hits after Erza left the battle to Natsu. 

Lightning shot down from the sky, striking him. He grit his teeth to keep from screaming, refusing to give Laxus the satisfaction. 

Before he could recover and retaliate with an attack of his own, Gajeel slammed into Laxus. “No one’s allowed to beat the hell out of my little brother except me!” 

“The hell?” Laxus grunted.  _ “Brother?”  _

Gajeel bared his teeth in a horrific smile. “That’s what I said, isn’t?” He turned his fist to iron, and punched Laxus across the jaw. 

Natsu stamped his foot. “Gajeel, what the hell, this is my fight!” He marched forward. “Get the hell out of my way!” 

“Oh yeah?” Gajeel whacked Natsu upside the head. “Whoever beats him first wins.” 

Natsu growled. “Fine! Jerk…” He rushed forward, landing another hit on Laxus before he could completely recover from Gajeel’s. 

As used to fighting with Erza as Natsu was… tag teaming with Gajeel was much easier, since they had the same style of fighting, and he didn’t have to worry about avoiding Erza’s many swords or getting in the way of her less controllable attacks. 

“Iron dragon roar!” 

The breath attack sent Laxus reeling back. “So you’re really brothers, huh?  _ Another _ dragon slayer?” He shook his head, laughing. “That’s honestly kind of funny.” 

The hair on the back of Natsu’s neck stood on end, and he found himself scooting a little closer to Gajeel. 

“The old man made me keep it a secret, but I’m gettin’ sick of that,” he continued. 

“No way…” Natsu breathed. 

Gajeel shook his head. “That ain’t right. He doesn’t  _ feel _ like one of us.” 

Laxus grinned.  _ “Lightning dragon roar!”  _

Natsu and Gajeel leaped out of the way of the lightning. 

“Laxus what the fuck!” Natsu shrieked. “You can’t be a dragon slayer!” He aimed a wing attack at him, but Laxus grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against one of the few walls that had managed to remain mostly intact. Lightning flickered from his fingers, leaving electrical burns to sear across his skin. 

Natsu gagged and clawed at Laxus’s hand, but he didn’t budge. 

“You’ve always been annoying as hell,” he grumbled. “And somehow it only got worse as you got older.” 

Flames flickered across Natsu’s body, but Laxus didn’t seem to mind. “I never understood the old Geezer’s obsession with you.” 

Natsu snarled, but Laxus only squeezed tighter, cutting off the little airflow he had left. 

Gajeel barreled into Laxus, sinking his fangs into his  _ neck. _ He rocked his head, being sure to tear off as large of a chunk of flesh as possible. 

Laxus dropped Natsu with a yelp. “The  _ fuck?” _

Gajeel spat out the glob of flesh, blood running down his chin and staining his teeth. “Told you to stop messin’ with my little brother, you bastard!” 

“I can handle him myself!” Natsu shouted as he punched Laxus across the jaw. “And that’s fucking disgusting, Gajeel.” 

His brother smirked. “What? You tellin’ me you’ve never bit anyone? Even since you got those nice new chompers?” He bared his fangs. 

Much to his dismay, Natsu couldn’t argue. He  _ had _ bitten a few people during particularly rough fights before. He even bit Gray once when they were brawling. 

Laxus recovered from the blow. “I’m done screwing around.” Electric charge built in the air, lightning arcing over his body. 

Natsu’s eyes widened as he sensed the magic power building within Laxus. If he got hit with that… 

He stumbled backwards as Laxus threw his hand out towards him, lightning not only springing from his fingertips, but raining down from the sky. 

Natsu squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for a hit that never came. 

Gajeel’s shriek cut him to his core. He snapped his eyes open, to see lightning crackling over his brother’s metal body, still melted and fucked up across his jaw and cheek where Natsu had attacked him. 

His body crumpled, metal clanging against the cobblestone before fading back to flesh. 

_ He… he took a hit for me, just like he did for Levy earlier… This one was  _ worse! Natsu whirled on Laxus. “You hurt my brother,” he snarled. 

Laxus raised an eyebrow. “That hunk of scrap metal?” 

A snarl ripped from Natsu’s throat. 

“Oh Christ, here we go,” someone complained. 

The fire that exploded burned so hot the stones and cobble around Natsu cracked and melted with the heat. “Don’t you  _ dare _ hurt my family!” he roared. 

“Shield! Shield! Levy,  _ SHIELD!”  _ Mirajane screeched. 

Fire blazed through the streets, incinerating everything in its path. Buildings, plants,  _ anything.  _ Thankfully, all the civilians had fled long ago. 

_ “Fire dragon iron fist!”  _ He hit Laxus so hard he went flying backwards, smashing through crumbling walls of brick and stone. 

He didn’t even rejoice in the fact that Laxus didn’t get back up, he rushed to Gajeel’s side. “Gajeel!  _ Gajeel!”  _ He nosed at his cheek. “If you die on me you bastard, I’m gonna kill you!” 

He didn’t stir. 

Tears built up in Natsu’s eyes. If his brother died without them actually getting to  _ be brothers _ again, he didn’t know what he’d do. He’d been such an  _ ass _ to him since he’d joined Fairy Tail, when even Levy seemed to have gotten over the incident. 

“You cryin’ over me, Natsu?” Gajeel grunted, cracking an eye open. 

Natsu froze, blinking back the tears. “N-No! Why would I do that? Bitch…” 

Gajeel managed to grin. “Whatever. Struck by lightning twice in the same day… Badass.” 

Natsu let out a choked laugh. “You’re a fucking idiot.” 

“What…  _ did you DO?”  _

Natsu stiffened.  _ Everyone _ stiffened. 

“Hey, uh… I found the Master,” Loke said with a smirk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail, trying to explain to the Master what happened: uuuuhhhh, Wendy was a badass, Mirajane stabbed Erza, Bixlow kicked Cana off a roof, Gray had a mental breakdown, and Natsu melted the city
> 
> This chapter was kind of all over the place, but it's weird/hard to write a bunch of fight scenes that are all happening at the same time, so eh
> 
> And don't worry, everyone's fine, there are no lasting injuries/scars (this time). I decided to let everyone off the hook


	19. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail leaves the capital without any real information, Mirajane deals with her guilt, Juvia and Gray have a talk, Lucy confronts Loke, and Wendy's recklessness catches up with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been doing prep for nano and editing my original novels, so this chapter was slower than my usual updates (and they'll probably be getting a little slower, sorry), but I hope you enjoy it!

By the time Cana came to, everyone had already relocated to a hospital. She glanced around the room they all shared. At least half of them were laid up due to injuries. 

Seems the fight had gotten even nastier after she fell. 

She sat up with a groan, hand pressed to her throbbing head. 

“Cana!” Mirajane bounded over, the only member of the guild not passed out, laid up, or missing. “Are you okay?” 

She huffed. “Feel like my skull cracked open.”

Mirajane winced. “Well… it was cracked open.” 

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?” 

She nodded. “Thankfully Wendy was there. Otherwise you probably would have died. She healed it best she could, but you’ll probably be a little sore for a few days.” 

Cana hummed. “So what happened?” 

Mirajane smiled sheepishly. “The Master is working on keeping us from being arrested for fighting like that in the capital. We’re definitely going to have to pay for all the damages though.” 

She glanced around again. Evergreen sat in the corner, wrapped in a blanket and clearly avoiding eye contact with anyone, with Freed gently rubbing her shoulder. Gajeel and Natsu bickered, laying in beds across from each other. Gray slumped against Juvia’s bed, asleep with a content smile on his face as the water mage carded her fingers through his hair. Levy scolded a heavily-bandaged Erza for trying to get out of bed. Bixlow was still unconscious. Finally, Lucy was curled up in a bed next to Cana’s, nose in a book. “Where’s everyone else? Loke? Wendy? Laxus?” 

Mirajane sighed. “They’re with the Master. Loke and Wendy were the only two without serious injuries, besides me, so Loke’s vouching that it wasn’t us who started to fight, and Wendy is detailing exactly what happened. Laxus is there to take full responsibility so Ever, Bixlow, and Freed are off the hook.” 

Cana snorted. She couldn’t say she agreed with letting the Thunder Legion worm their way out of this, but she admitted that she suspected Laxus was the brains behind this brilliant operation. “Let me guess. The rewards from my next few jobs get to go towards fixing this damned city.” 

Mirajane’s smile returned. “Yep!” 

Cana growled. “Fucking great.” 

* * *

The trip back to the guildhall was miserable. Not only was nearly everyone injured in someway and extremely grumpy, but they hadn’t even done what they set out to do. 

Erza sighed. “Master?” she asked, just an hour or two after leaving the capital. The other guild members had fallen asleep. Well, except for Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel, but they were too busy moaning about their motion sickness to be listening. 

“Hm? What is it, Erza?” he asked as he stared out the wagon’s window.

She bit her lip. “W-Well… Where’s Laxus?” The rest of the Thunder Legion was returning to the guildhall with them. So why wasn’t he? 

“I banished him,” he replied. 

“Oh…” Erza couldn’t say she was surprised. She would have done the same thing, had she been the guildmaster. But Laxus was the Master’s  _ grandson.  _ His  _ family. _ “I’m sorry.” 

He smiled sadly. “It was the best for everyone.” 

* * *

“Hey, Gajeel,” Natsu said after they arrived in Magnolia, and were free of that infernal  _ vehicle.  _ “Where have you been stayin’?” 

Gajeel grunted. “Around.” 

Natsu and Wendy exchanged a glance, then she nudged him and said, “Come on, this was your idea.” 

Gajeel narrowed his eyes. Just what were these two brats playing at? 

Natsu took a deep breath. “I want ya to come stay with us.” 

“Seriously?” They wanted him to come  _ live _ with them? Just like that? 

Natsu glared and snarled. “Well geez, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to be an ass about it!” 

Wendy sighed. “I don’t think that’s what he meant, Natsu.” She smiled up at Gajeel. “Come on! Please? It’ll be like when we were kids!” She bounced. “It’s a little small and messy, but that’s okay, right?” 

They really wanted him to? Even Natsu? He glanced between them, sensing nothing but sincerity. “Those damn cats’a yours live there?” 

They nodded. 

He scrunched his nose up. “Alright, I think I can live with that.” 

Wendy squealed and Natsu grinned. 

* * *

A few days passed, and things settled down once again. Though there was still… tension in the air. 

Mirajane knew exactly what it was. It was the tension between her and Erza, and the tension between Juvia and Gray. 

Normally, she would be all over exactly what caused the strangeness around Juvia and Gray, but she was too concerned about Erza. 

Mirajane knew Erza didn’t blame her for injuring her. She’d made that clear multiple times. But that didn’t mean that Mirajane didn’t blame herself. She still felt Erza’s blood on her hands, beneath her fingernails, and she didn’t know if that would ever go away. 

Mirajane knew Erza was right. She never would have been able to forgive herself if she’d killed Freed (and it  _ was _ going to be a fatal strike). But the thing was… Mirajane didn’t know if she’d be able to forgive herself for letting it go that far in the first place, even if Erza _had_ survived the injury. 

“Mira… Please stop thinking like that,” Erza whispered, hugging her closer. 

She frowned, and pulled their blanket tighter around her shoulders. “How do you know what I’m thinking?” 

“Because it’s  _ all _ you’ve been thinking about,” she said with a sigh. “It wasn’t your fault.” She ran her hands through Mirajane’s hair. “Everyone loses control of their magic from time to time. I mean, look at Natsu.” 

“I guess….” she muttered. “I’m sorry…” 

Erza held Mirajane’s chin. “Hey, look at me.” 

She shifted to look her in the eye, though it was awkward in their cuddling position. 

“It’s  _ not _ your fault. None of it, and I’ll keep telling you until you believe it, okay?” Erza said before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

“Yeah… okay,” Mirajane whispered. She rolled back over. Erza really was a great big spoon. “Hey, has Gray told you what’s going on between him and Juvia?” she asked, really wanting the subject to change. 

“There’s something going on between them?” she gasped. “I thought Juvia liked him, but is something else going on too?” 

Mirajane giggled. “Of course there’s something between them! Gray slept in Juvia’s lap after the fight the other day.” She shook her head. Erza really was clueless. But then again, Gray probably hadn’t noticed either. “I was just wondering if he’d mentioned anything.” 

Erza hummed. “No. He hasn’t. I’ll be sure to ask him though!” 

Mirajane pressed closer to her and laughed. “You do that.” 

* * *

Gray found Juvia on a park bench beneath a tree, just where she said she’d be. Before he could change his mind, he walked over and sat next to her. “So what do you want to talk about?” 

She’d approached him earlier that day, claiming they needed to talk, but then refusing to talk in the guildhall, and saying to meet her later when he agreed. He had no idea what this was about, and was beyond confused. 

She took a deep breath. “I… I haven’t been completely honest with you, Gray, and I’m sorry. It’s time for me to change that.” 

He frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?” 

She pointed to the marking that had just begun to creep up his jaw. “I know what you are,” she whispered. 

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, everyone does.” He hadn’t tried to keep it under wraps. He didn’t want to lie to everyone like that. Besides, his appearance didn’t really give him the option of playing human anymore. 

She shook her head. “No, Gray. I mean that I  _ know. _ I know exactly what you are, why you are what you are…  _ I, know.”  _

He jerked back.  _ “What?”  _

“I-I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. I realized as soon as I met you,” she said, bowing her head. “But I want to tell you now.”

He grabbed her shoulders. “Tell me! Please!” He had to know! He had to know what he was and how he ended up like this. 

She took his hand, the one covered in the black markings, as if examining it. “Hundreds of years ago, the black wizard Zeref created demons.” 

His eyes widened. The black wizard Zeref.  _ That _ was why the name Natsu screamed in his sleep was so familiar. He couldn’t believe none of them had made the connection before. 

He hadn’t known Zeref created demons, though. 

“But people didn’t know demons were demons when they were first created,” she continued, letting his hand go to fall to his side. “And eventually, humans and demons had children with each other.” 

The breath hitched in Gray’s throat as he realized what she was implying. 

“You’re a descendent of these children, on your father’s side.” She sighed. “Normally, at your age, you wouldn’t even know. But practicing magic makes the demonic blood in you more powerful, which is why it’s started to take you over.” 

Gray went rigid, as that conversation he’d overheard all those years ago began to make sense. “But it was starting to happen to my dad, right? That’s why Deliora showed up…” 

Juvia’s eyebrows furrowed. “How did you know that?” 

“I overheard my master, Ur, and a man talking about it, years ago. I never knew what they meant,” he said. 

_ Ur knew? She knew what I was and she still took me in? Taught me magic?  _

“Ur?” Juvia’s eyes widened. “She was like my family!” 

“Huh?” 

“My family. They’ve been hunting down demon descendants and killing them for generations,” she said. “It’s how I know all this. Ur used to work with my parents. I met her a couple times, when I was very young.” 

Was that why she had been in his village to save him? How much of Gray’s life revolved around what he was? “So what?” he asked. “You’re meant to kill me?” 

Juvia wildly waved her arms and shook her head. “Oh no! No! I would never! I promise! I just meant to tell you that’s how I knew!” 

“Relax,” he said, grabbing her wrist. “I was kidding.” 

“Oh…” She let out a relieved breath. 

“But I’m still human, too? I’m not… I’m not  _ just _ a demon?” he asked, almost scared of the answer. 

“W-Well,” she stammered. “Technically yes, but now that the demon blood has a foothold, it’s going to try and keep expanding. Which is why you… had that issue the other day…” 

“Ah.” That. When he almost killed Bixlow. He’d tried not to think about it, but it was hard. Juvia had assured him it wasn’t his fault, and hadn’t told anyone else (Neither had Bixlow, but Gray suspected he was too scared to. He’d been avoiding Gray like the plague). But he still didn’t know what to do about it. He was having a hard time processing that he’d snapped and lost control like that. 

(He’d dimly wondered a few times if this was how Natsu felt)

“But,” Juvia continued. “That’s why I decided I couldn’t keep quiet about this anymore. I was able to pull you back from that, and I think… I think I might know why. My mother explained it to me once.” 

“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning. 

“Well, I…” Juvia’s face began to turn red. “She said that there was a way to bind demon descendants to a human, to help them keep their humanity, but it would only work if they were both highly compatible. And you could tell… because…” By now her cheeks were beat red. “They’re  _ drawn _ to each other.” 

His frown deepened. “Okay…” Did she mean that  _ they _ were compatible in this way? “And what does that mean?” 

“I couldn’t kill you when we met, Gray, even though I should have for so many reasons, and had not a single one to spare you,” she said. “That has to mean something. I calmed you down and brought you back from that brink the other day.” 

He nodded. “I-I think I get it,” he said. What she was saying made sense. He had trusted her faster than he’d trusted anyone ever before, even Natsu and Erza. “So if we… do this binding thing, it will keep me human?” 

She nodded. 

“And you’re okay with that?” 

Again, she nodded. “It won’t turn back the things that have already happened, but it will keep you from changing any more, physically or mentally.” 

“How do we do it?” he asked, relief flooding through his body. There was a way to  _ stop _ this. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t know. But… my father would,” she said. 

“Your father?” 

“Yes. He’s the only Lockser left, aside from myself. Obviously, I didn’t follow in my parents’ footsteps, so they never taught me everything. But I know he still lives in my old village. He could show us how,” she said. 

“I’m willing to try anything,” he said, running a hand through his hair. He really didn’t want to meet Juvia’s father (or think about the field day Mirajane would have with the implications of that). 

“I’ll work on getting into contact with him,” she said. 

* * *

Loke slid down the alley wall, panting. The attacks were getting more frequent, and his form had even started to flicker this time. 

He didn’t have long. 

“Hey! Loke!” 

He stiffened as Lucy Heartfilia approached him. He really shouldn’t have flirted with her. Really, really shouldn’t have done that. 

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” she said, placing her hands on her hips and leaning over him. “Natsu told me you’re a celestial spirit! What gives? How come you never told me?” 

_ Oh hell.  _ He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. It wasn’t like he’d been hiding it, exactly. He just… didn’t want to explain.  _ Especially _ now that death was nipping at his heels. “Yeah… that’s correct.” 

_ “Seriously?” _ she demanded. “You’re a goddamn  _ celestial spirit!?”  _

“I just said yes,” he grumbled, leaning his head against the wall. 

“Who’s your contract with?” she asked. “I didn’t know there were other celestial spirit wizards in Fairy Tail. What spirit are you?” 

He had to bite back a groan. “There’s not. I’m here on my own,” he said. 

Lucy’s brows knitted together. “What?” 

“I was banished from the celestial spirit realm, so I’m just here.” He shrugged. 

“But…” She sat down across from him. “Don’t celestial spirits need to exist in their own realm to stay alive? It’s basically like needing oxygen, isn’t it?” 

He grimaced. “Surprise, surprise. I’m a dead man walking.” 

“Loke!” she exclaimed. 

He raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s the truth. There’s no use in denying it. Or are you going to throw a bitch fit about it with Cana?” 

The shock and anger in Lucy’s face melted into sadness. “That’s why she’s been so moody recently?” 

He nodded. “It finally started catching up with me. I’m dead any day now.” 

“No,” she said. 

Loke groaned. “Seriously? You too?” 

“There’s got to be some way to fix you!” she exclaimed, jumping back up. “Tell me your real name and I’ll start looking! You gotta admit, I probably know more about it than Cana, probably most of Fairy Tail.” 

“Whatever. Do what you want. I don’t care,” he said. “But I don’t want updates on it, and I’ve come to terms with it, so no sad sappy bullshit, you got it?” 

Though hesitant, she nodded. 

“Good. Now let me fall apart in peace,” he said. 

She turned to leave, then whipped back around. “Wait! You never told me your real name!” 

He sighed. “It’s Leo.” 

Lucy’s eyes became as wide as saucers.  _ “Leo?” _ she sputtered. “Like,  _ Leo _ Leo? Leo the lion? That Leo?” 

“Do you know of another celestial spirit named Leo?” he deadpanned. 

She snapped her jaw shut. “Fair enough.” Then she turned and marched off. 

Somehow, Loke got the feeling that if anyone could save his sorry ass, it would be Lucy Heartfilia. 

* * *

As expected, living with Gajeel was a bit of an adjustment. 

He took Wendy’s old room, and she began sleeping with Natsu every night. Even though they’d gotten another bed for her, she never used it. (A few times, all three of them just piled onto the couch to sleep, even though it was never mentioned in the morning). 

The house began to absorb Gajeel’s scent, blending it with theirs, and getting that much closer to their old homes as children. 

There was also a cabinet of scrap metal in the kitchen now, for Gajeel to snack on. 

Wendy sat at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of orange juice, still half asleep. It wasn’t long before Gajeel stumbled in and made his own cup of coffee. “Mornin,’ Wendy.” 

“Good morning,” she yawned. “How was Cana’s last night?” 

Cana had thrown a party the night before, but Wendy hadn’t been allowed to go, since she said you had to be at least eighteen. So she’d stayed up playing games with Happy and Charle, waiting for her brothers to stumble in, so they were all tired. 

“It was alright,” he grumbled, rubbing his head. “Not sure it was worth the hangover though. Think that alcoholic bitch spiked the booze with somethin.’” 

Wendy couldn’t help but snicker. That sounded like Cana. 

“Made us play drinking games,” he continued. “Then those stupid party makeout games.” 

She felt a blush crawl over her cheeks. “A-And everyone played?” She had been a little disappointed that she hadn’t been allowed to go, but now she wasn’t. That just sounded awkward, and weird. 

He threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t ever change, brat.” He sat down at the table with his coffee and a bowl of bolts. “And nah, Natsu didn’t play.” 

She hummed, not surprised. Natsu had never been interested in anything like that. 

As if on cue, Natsu shuffled out of their room, groaning. He looked like death. “Think Cana spiked the booze,” he whined as he fell face first onto the kitchen table. 

Wendy smiled. 

“You were plastered, man,” Gajeel said through a mouthful of metal. “Think you’d feel this way even if it wasn’t. Do you even remember last night?” 

He forced himself up and shrugged. “I remember you and Loke sucking face.” 

Wendy squeaked and covered her ears. 

Gajeel made a face at Natsu. “Yeah, and he wasn’t half bad at it. Neither was Erza,” he said with a smirk. 

“ _ Excuse _ me?” Natsu demanded. 

“Can we please talk about something else?” Wendy asked. 

Natsu ruffled her hair. “How was your night?” 

“Just played some board games with Happy and Charle. It was pretty fun!” she said. 

“Think I shoulda just stayed here with you, but Erza and Gray drug me to that party,” he said. “Think I might just sleep all day.” 

If the dark circles beneath his eyes were any indication, Wendy felt that was probably a good idea. 

She got up and dug a bag of biscuits out of the cupboard. 

She bit into it, then squeaked as a sharp bolt of pain ripped through her gums. 

“Wendy?” Natsu and Gajeel asked. 

She pulled the biscuit out of her mouth, surprised to see blood staining it where she’d bitten it. Confused, she pressed her finger against her gums, feeling for a cut or blister. 

Instead, a tooth fell loose, clinking against her bottom teeth before she spit it into her palm. 

_ That doesn’t make sense,  _ she thought.  _ I already lost all of my baby teeth.  _

Natsu’s chair screeched against the floor as he jumped up, eyes wide with panic. Gajeel snarled, “Fuck!” 

“It’s just a tooth,” she assured them with a smile. “I’m sure it’s—”  _ Oh, OH!  _ “Oh, no…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cana throws parties like once a week, so don't worry, you'll definitely get an actual scene of one sometime. 
> 
> I'm hoping to get out at least one more update before the weekend (I'm going on a small trip so I won't be able to update then). Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Also! Gray and Juvia's relationship is probably never going to be explicitly romantic (though some parts of it could certainly be interpreted that way). If anything, it's more queer platonic


	20. The Gate of the Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of Fairy Tail's most powerful wizards returns, Levy confirms that Wendy's transformation has begun, and Lucy and Cana employ a desperate move to save Loke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote almost this entire chapter with my cat napping on my arms. Not important at all, but I wanted you to know that.

“So,” Lucy began. “Tell me about Leo.” 

Aquarius glared at her. “You seriously summoned me to talk about that reject?” 

Lucy sighed. Of course, she knew Aquarius would make this difficult. When did she not? But she was also the spirit that she trusted would give the most pertinent information. “Please. He’s kind of dying, and I’d like to keep that from happening.” 

“Wait, he’s not dead yet?” Aquarius’s eyes widened, before her scowl quickly returned. “He always was too damn stubborn for his own good. And  _ seriously?  _ I thought I told you not to summon me out of a bathtub!” 

“Look, I didn’t want to go into the woods and find a river, okay? This was the easiest,” she said, shaking her head. “And can you please just tell me about him? Why was he banished?” 

She sniffed and turned her nose up. “He got his master killed. That’s like our number one rule! True, it was indirect and an accident, but still. That’s not something that can be overlooked so easily.” 

Lucy frowned. Loke was the cause of his master’s death? That didn’t seem right. “How did that even happen?” 

“He refused to leave the human world, so his master, Karen, couldn’t summon any more spirits, and as such, was killed during a job.” She shook her head. “The damn bastard said he was doing it to protect Aries. Now, I have a date, so I’m done here.” Aquarius disappeared. 

“Aquarius!” Lucy groaned. “Are you freaking kidding me?” 

But at least she knew  _ something _ now. She grabbed her keys. Time to ask everyone else what they knew as well. 

* * *

Erza nearly choked. “You’re meeting her  _ father?”  _

“Uh… yeah?” Gray gave her a look. “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” 

Erza almost banged her head against the table. She may not know much about dating, but she didn’t think you were supposed to meet the other person’s parents unless it was  _ serious, _ and you had been dating for a long time. “Well, it’s just, don’t you think you might be rushing this?” 

“We’re not  _ dating, _ idiot,” he snapped. “We’re going to learn a spell that will keep the demon part of me from spreading.” 

“Well you might have lead with that!” Erza exclaimed. “But… just out of curiosity,  _ are _ you dating?” she asked. 

“Can you let me eat lunch in peace?” he asked, picking up his sandwich and shaking it. 

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. It’s my job to make sure you and Natsu don’t end up sad and lonely, since you won’t do it on your own.” 

He glared at her. “I don’t need your help. If I want to date someone, I’ll date someone. And it ain’t gonna be Juvia.” 

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “You seem pretty close with her.” 

He grunted. “Whatever. Fine. We’re pining. Happy?” 

“Gray… why do you have to be so difficult about these things?” she asked. 

“Because you’re reading into things. Mira’s been a bad influence on you,” he laughed. “She’s just helping me out.” 

Erza still felt like there was something he wasn’t telling her, but decided to let it go. He obviously wasn’t going to tell her, and she didn’t want to irritate him by pressing. “Well fine.” Then she frowned. “Have you seen Natsu this morning?” He was usually at the guildhall by now. Wendy too. 

Gray shook his head. “Nope,” he said around a mouthful of his sandwich. “But he drank a lot more than us last night. He’s probably got a bad hangover.” Then he shrugged. “Or maybe he and Gajeel finally killed each other.” 

Erza hummed. She’d been surprised when the iron dragon slayer had moved in with Natsu and Wendy. She knew Wendy’s relationship with him was fairly strong, but Natsu had seemed like he wanted nothing to do with him. Obviously, she’d been wrong. Though she supposed she could understand. They were siblings, and she suspected that Natsu really hadn’t hated him. “I don’t think so. They’ve been getting along a lot better.” 

“I saw them hitting each other yesterday!” he argued. 

Erza raised an eyebrow. “Yes? And how often do you and Natsu hit each other?” 

Gray huffed, but grumbled, “Fair enough.” 

Suddenly, the guildhall went silent. Chatter died down, the clinking of dishes stopped. Confused, Erza twisted around, trying to figure out what was going on. 

The guildhall doors slammed shut. 

“Oh, he’s finally back,” Gray said. 

Mystogan walked through the guildhall, finally stopped at Gray and Erza’s table. “Is the Master around?” he asked, voice muffled by his mask. 

Erza exchanged a glance with Gray. Mystogan hadn’t been in Magnolia in almost a year. He was almost as bad as Gildarts. Why had he returned now? 

“Uh, he should be in the back, in his office,” Erza said. 

He nodded. “Thank you, Erza.” Then he strolled back to the Master’s office, as if he were here everyday, and not been missing for the past year. 

Of course, she supposed that wasn’t entirely true.  _ Missing _ was a strong word. The Master had probably known what he was up to, what quest he’d embarked on. But still, no one in the guild knew a single thing about him other than his name. They didn’t even know what he  _ looked like _ , for god’s sake. 

“Wonder what he’s been up to,” Gray said after Mystogan was gone. 

Erza didn’t reply, just stared at the door Mystogan had disappeared behind. Something about him… felt almost familiar in a way she couldn’t place. 

“We should see which request he takes before he leaves again,” he continued. “He’s powerful, so he’s gotta be taking the more interesting ones.” 

She hummed. “I suppose.” 

She’d never been as intrigued by Mystogan as most of the guild, but that didn’t seem to be the case anymore. 

* * *

Lucy frowned as she searched the streets of Magnolia for Loke. 

It had taken talking to nearly every single one of her spirits, but she finally got the full story. 

Loke had a contract with an abusive wizard. When he refused to leave Earth in a protest after Karen had mistreated Aries one too many times, Karen ended up dying after trying to do a job without access to her spirits. 

Personally, Lucy didn’t think it was fair to blame Loke for that. He’d been protecting his friend, and Karen was the one who was dumb enough to take a job without her spirits. That was completely her choice. 

She needed to find him. If she could find some way to force his gate open… just long enough for him to exist in the celestial spirit realm for even a  _ minute. _ That would give her more time to find a permanent solution. 

But she couldn’t do that until she found him. She’d already checked the guildhall, and Cana’s place, leaving her to run in circles, hoping she found him. 

* * *

_ “LEVY!”  _

She peeked around the bookshelf, finding herself face to face with three very distraught dragon slayers. 

Not something she felt equipped to deal with. 

Gajeel held Wendy against his chest, clutching her tightly. Her eyes were wide and unfocused as she stared at a little white object resting in her palm. 

Natsu grabbed Levy’s shoulders and shook her, tears in his eyes. “Wendy’s teeth are fallin’ out!” 

“Uh…” She backed out of Natsu’s hold. “I think you should talk to Porlyusica about that.” 

He shook his head. “No! Levy! Like  _ mine! _ They’re falling out like mine! Why is that happening?” he demanded. “She’s seven years younger than me!” 

Realization crashed into Levy, and she gasped. “Oh god. Gajeel, put her down. Let me talk to her.” 

Reluctantly, Gajeel sat her down on top of a table. 

Levy wracked her brain. Natsu was right. This shouldn’t be happening. Yes, Wendy had used her magic several times during emergency situations, but it still shouldn’t have been enough to trigger the transformation. So why was it starting? 

She pointed to the tooth in Wendy’s hand. “That’s yours?” 

She nodded, still not taking her eyes off of it. 

“Let me take a look.” She pulled Wendy’s jaw open.  _ Please let this be some kind of fluke. One of her teeth was punched loose in a fight, or something. Please, please, please.  _

A small white point poked out from her swollen gum where the tooth used to be. Levy prodded at her other teeth, finding several of them dangerously loose, to her horror. “Oh no…” 

“What do you  _ mean _ oh no!?” Natsu demanded. “She can’t be turning into a dragon! It makes no damn sense!” 

“I-I’m sorry,” Levy said. “It doesn’t make sense to me either. It shouldn’t be doing this to her yet. But… you know how it works… once it starts… it doesn’t stop.” 

Wendy flinched. 

Gajeel snarled. 

Levy glanced between the two brothers, noting their fangs, scales, pointed ears. It was almost natural for Natsu and Gajeel, honestly not looking that weird at all, but she couldn’t even imagine Wendy looking like that. 

“Miss Levy…” Wendy whispered, voice shaking. “Why… I mean, this shouldn’t be happening?” 

She sighed. “You’re right. It shouldn’t. The only thing I could think of would be your brothers’ transformations somehow triggering your own. Like your body is adapting to be more like them since you’re together so much.” 

Natsu went rigid. “It’s my fault?” 

“No!” Levy shook her head. “Of course not. I’m just saying… that’s a possibility.” 

Gajeel marched out of the library. “I’m findin’ a dragon. Right now!” 

“Gajeel!” Levy called, but it did nothing. He left. 

Natsu drove his fist into a bookshelf, cracking it and leaving several books to fall to the floor before he stormed out as well. 

Levy rolled her eyes. Dragon slayers and their stupid tempers. Didn’t they realize their little sister needed them more than they needed to throw tantrums? “Come here.” She sat on the table next to Wendy and pulled her into a hug. “We’ll get this figured out.” 

* * *

Eventually, Lucy found Loke. Cana as well. 

They sat on a park bench beneath a tree, Loke’s form shimmering and flickering every few minutes. 

“You’re an idiot!” Cana wailed. “A fucking idiot! Why didn’t you get help!? We could have  _ helped _ you!” She hit his shoulder, then put her head in her hands. 

“I’m going to force your gate open,” Lucy said as she approached them. “I can do it.” 

Cana’s head snapped up. “Really?” 

Loke shook his head and scoffed. “No you can’t. You don’t have a key.” 

She frowned. “That’s why I said I was going to  _ force _ it open.” 

“No offense, but there’s no way you have the magic power needed to do that,” he said. “ _ I _ can’t even force my own gate open.” 

And if  _ that _ wasn’t a challenge, Lucy didn’t know what was. “No? Fucking watch me.” She marched forward, grabbed his hand, and forced her magic power to build. 

Opening gates was easy with keys.  _ Ridiculously  _ easy. After all, she had managed to do it as a small child, when even the greatest wizards could barely accomplish a single spell. 

But opening a gate without a key? Well, it was the equivalent of trying to kick open an armored door. It wasn’t  _ supposed _ to happen. 

That didn’t mean it couldn’t be done however. Even the most fortified of gates could be forced open if enough power was applied. 

Loke tried to pull his hand away. “Lucy! Channeling that much magic power could tear you apart!” 

She scoffed. “I’m not that breakable.” 

Pressure built around her as she forced her body to take in more and more magic. She had one shot at this. She had to punch through the gate in one go. The barrier between their realm and the celestial spirit realm would heal itself too fast for multiple small blows to force it open.

“You really think you can do it?” Cana asked. 

Lucy nodded and grit her teeth. 

Cana held her hand out. “Then take my magic too. I’ll channel for you.” 

She took her hand, biting back a groan as Cana’s magic flooded through her. 

The magic built and built and built, tearing through her body and pressuring the world around her. She screamed as her nose and eyes began to bleed, her body crumpling beneath the sheer power she was pulling into herself. 

“Lucy!” Loke exclaimed, trying to pull away again. 

“No!” she shouted. “I can  _ do _ this!” 

When her skin began to rip and tear, and her head hurt so much the world spun, she finally forced the magic towards the gate, knowing if she channeled anymore, she would either pass out or die, dooming Loke either way. 

_ “Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!”  _

The magic exploded, tearing through reality. It pounded against the gate, forcing it down,  _ breaking _ it. 

Reality tore around them, and had Lucy not been holding onto Loke and Cana’s hands for dear life, she felt the winds and magic might have thrown them apart. 

When gates normally opened, it was a nice little slit. Perfect for a spirit to hop to and fro. But this… this was a  _ nightmare. _ Black skies full of stars swirled around them, flooding from the gaping hole in the world Lucy had just torn open above them. 

“What is this!?” Cana screamed, latching onto Lucy. “What’s  _ happening!?”  _

“Lucy!” Loke gasped, reaching his hand out to touch the ribbons of reality trailing from the tear. 

“Go!” she shouted. “I can’t keep this open for long!” Already she felt the gate trying to mend itself, pushing against the magic that had forced it open. 

Hesitantly, Loke took a step towards the swirling vortex. 

Just as he reached his hand through the portal, the night sky blazed to life above them, snuffing out the sun and blue sky that existed just seconds before. 

“Leo, you would dare to force your gate open?” a booming voice asked. 

Lucy squeaked and stumbled backwards as a massive spirit materialized above them, towering over them, like they were nothing more than mice. 

“What the fuck is  _ that!?”  _ Cana screeched. 

The spirit eyed her with disdain. “I am the celestial spirit king.” 

Cana’s shock and fear morphed into anger. 

_ Oh no. _ Lucy tightened her grip on the card mage. “Cana—” 

“You’re a fucking bitch!” she shouted, pointing towards the king. “You’re the one who banished him, huh!? Just ‘cause his asshole of a master bit it? It was her own damn fault! She had it coming!” 

Loke choked. “Cana, you can’t just—” 

She turned her glare to him. “I’m not done!” She turned back to the king. “That’s a shitty rule, bastard! You tellin’ me you’d banish all of Lucy’s spirits if she died when they weren’t around? That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense!” 

Lucy watched Cana, gaping. She knew she had a temper and was very brash, but this was  _ absurd. _ Had she no sense of respect? Or hell, a healthy dose of fear? This spirit could probably crush them like bugs, if he so desired. 

“And who might you be, spitfire?” the king asked. 

Cana held her thumb to her chest. “Name’s Cana Alberona, Fairy Tail’s card mage.” 

He hummed. “You feel that I’ve been unfair to Leo?” 

“Did I not make it  _ fucking _ clear enough?” she snarled. 

“Sir,” Lucy interjected before this spiraled even further out of control. “With all do respect, I think Cana has some valid points, though she could have phrased them better.” 

Cana huffed. 

“Loke did nothing wrong, and only did what he did to protect Aries. Karen died because of her own pride and selfishness. That had nothing to do with him,” she said, bowing her head. “I implore you to reconsider. Loke is too good a man to die over something so petty.” 

“You speak of him as a friend,” the king mused. “Not a celestial spirit wizard.” 

Lucy nodded. “He _is_ my friend.  _ All _ my spirits are my friends. None of them deserve to die.” 

The king turned his attention back to Cana. “And you. What are you?” 

“I’m his fuck buddy,” Cana said. 

“Oh my god!” Loke gasped, covering his quickly reddening cheeks. Had the situation not been so serious, Lucy might have laughed. She’d  _ never _ seen him flustered like this before. 

The king raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. “And you ladies feel strongly enough about this that you would risk your lives to save him?” 

Lucy and Cana nodded. 

The king was silent for a moment, and Lucy held her breath. Then he smiled. “Well, if two pure-hearted, powerful wizards such as yourselves are willing to go this far for him, I suppose we can give him a second chance.” 

Lucy sagged in relief, while Cana muttered, “Pure-hearted?” with a confused look on her face. 

Loke sank to his knees. “I can go home?” 

“Yes, Leo. You may return to the celestial spirit realm.” The king smiled at Lucy. “I hope we meet again.” 

He flickered away, and the swirling tear in reality snapped shut as the last of Lucy’s power left her. She fell to her knees, panting and sobbing. She did it. She’d  _ saved _ him! 

Darkness encroached on her vision. The last thing she saw was Loke vanishing, and his key appearing in her hands, before she passed out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loke's finally back at full power! Also, Cana is one of my favorite characters to write, I love her 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	21. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia and Mirajane have a talk, Wendy visits Porlyusica, Grandine is visited by Metalicana, Natsu and Gajeel realize they made a mistake, and Erza confronts Mystogan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait. I had that little trip, and then my laptop charger broke, so that was fun. 
> 
> And thank you so much for all the wonderful comments this fic has been getting! Honestly, I'm being very self indulgent with it and didn't expect so many people to enjoy it this much. Your comments definitely encourage me to continue this and update as often as I can, so thank you!

Two days had passed since Wendy’s teeth had started falling out, and Loke returned to the celestial spirit realm, and honestly, Mirajane was tired of putting up with everyone’s shit. 

Ever since Loke left (and mind you, he wasn’t really even  _ gone, _ he was still around  _ constantly, _ just slightly less than he used to be), Cana was at the bar. Which, Cana was always at the bar, but at least she sat at the bar and quietly destroyed her liver. Now, she leaned across the bar, moaning and groaning about how quiet and boring her apartment was without the celestial spirit. 

There was  _ definitely _ some weird romantic thing going on between them again (if it had ever really stopped in the first place, that is). 

Along with Cana, was Wendy. Of course, Mirajane did not  _ at all _ blame the girl for being upset. She had every right to be. What she was  _ upset  _ with, were her dumbass older brothers, who had dropped off the face of the planet after finding out what was happening to their sister. No one had seen hide nor hair of Gajeel or Natsu since then, and as such, Erza insisted on Wendy staying with her, obviously very irked with the pair of dragon slayers as well. 

Wendy had scarcely spoken to anyone. She just followed Erza around, eyes wide and unblinking. Occasionally, she spat out another tooth, clutching it tightly until either Erza or Mirajane convinced her to give it to one of them. Levy was also keeping a close eye on her, worried that because she was so young and small, the transformation would be even more stressful and dangerous to her body than it was to Gajeel and Natsu. 

Freed and the rest of the Thunder Legion were being rather annoying as well, moping about Laxus being banished and whining how if maybe they’d been allowed to take some of the blame, he wouldn’t have had to be (Freed was especially bad in this department, but Mirajane decided to let that be). 

Now, if she had to deal with all of these things one at a time, or even just for an hour or two, it wouldn’t be so bad. But all of these people were at the bar.  _ Constantly.  _

It was driving her  _ insane.  _

“Miraaaaaaa!” Cana slurred. “Loke didn’t come home  _ again _ last night. What do you think’s up? Ya think he’s got a starry girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? He never told me!” 

Mirajane rolled her eyes and sat down another cup of booze in front of the brunette to distract her. “I doubt that, I’m sure he’s just catching up with everyone. Besides, I thought you two were okay with having multiple partners?” They had in the past, and they were both very clearly after Lucy. 

Cana attacked the cup. “Only if we talk about it first!” 

She hummed. “I’m sure he wouldn’t do that. I think that you’re just very, very drunk.”  _ And bad at admitting to how much you care about him.  _

“Do you think Laxus left because of me?” Freed asked. “What if it was something  _ I _ did?” 

Mirajane was two seconds from leaping over the bar and going home. “Freed, he was banished. It had nothing to do with you. It wasn’t even his choice to leave.” God, he really couldn’t handle his alcohol. “You both have about half an hour before I cut you off. It’s getting late and I want to go home.” 

Cana whined. 

Lucy approached with a sigh. She was still looking a little rough from all the magical energy she’d used to save Loke. “I’ll get her home, Mira.” She nudged Cana off the stool. “Come on. I’ll stay there with you tonight, okay? Even if he doesn’t show up before then, I can summon him after I recover, okay?” 

“Okay…” Cana agreed, sliding off the stool and leaning against the blonde. “Only got one bed though.” 

“Think I can live with that,” Lucy said as she led her away. 

Mirajane couldn’t help but smile. They were rather cute. 

A few minutes later she had Freed shooed off, and went about tidying up the bar. Just as she was about to head out, Juvia approached and leaned across the bar. 

Mirajane sighed. “Sorry, Juvia. But I’m done serving tonight.” 

She shook her head. “Oh, no! That’s not what I want, I was wondering if I… well… you seem to know everyone in the guild fairly well, so I was wondering if I could ask you… some stuff…” 

As tired as she was, Mirajane couldn’t find it in her to turn the girl down. “Yeah, sure.” She hopped over the bar. “We can talk on the way to Fairy Hills, okay?” 

Juvia nodded and followed her. 

“So…” Mirajane said after they left the guildhall, since Juvia evidently wasn’t going to start the conversation. “What did you want to know? You don’t strike me as someone who just wants to gossip.” 

Juvia’s cheeks turned red. “W-Well, I…” 

She raised her eyebrows. “You  _ do _ want to gossip?” Not that she cared, she loved to gossip, but like she’d said, Juvia really didn’t seem like the type. 

“Well…” She twirled her hair around her finger. “I don’t like to think of it like that, I don’t really think it is gossip, but I suppose it might sound that way.” 

“I really don’t mind if it is,” she said. “So just ask what you want to know,” she said with a smile. 

Juvia took a deep breath, then blurted out, “Are Natsu and Gray dating?” 

Mirajane laughed so hard she doubled over, grabbing onto Juvia’s shoulder for support. “I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ” 

Juvia’s cheeks somehow became even redder. “I-I-I just thought… they’re very close, and Natsu is always laying or leaning on him. I thought Erza was maybe dating at least one of them, too, but then I learned you were dating her, so I figured you must know what was going on. So, they’re not? I’m guessing?” 

Mirajane stood back up and shook her head, forcing the laughter down. “No, no they’re not. They’re very close, but…  _ no.  _ They’d both probably vomit if they knew you thought so.” 

Juvia stared at her feet as they walked. “Oh…” 

“Why did you want to know?” she asked. 

She shrugged. “Gray and I were supposed to leave yesterday to meet with my father, but he changed his mind and didn’t want to leave until Natsu came back. He seemed very worried about him. And like I said before, they’re very close and touchy with each other.” 

Mirajane was  _ dying _ to know why Gray was going to meet Juvia’s father, but she let it go. “No, that’s just how Natsu is with people he cares about. You hang around their group enough and he’ll likely start doing the same with you. And they grew up together. Natsu, Erza, and Gray are like family. They’re both worried about him running off like that. Besides, neither Gray nor Natsu have ever been interested in dating anyone. Natsu especially. Trust me, I have tried many times.” Gray always claimed he had better things to do, and Natsu… well, he’d only ever had eyes for Lisanna. 

Juvia nodded. “Oh. Well, thank you, Mirajane. I won’t pry anymore.” 

She hummed. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. And if you want more detail, you can ask Erza, as well. She’d be more than happy to tell you about their relationship. Can I ask why you wanted to know if they were dating in the first place?” 

Juvia squeaked and pressed her hands against her cheeks. “I just… well… Gray is very… he’s very… I like him.” 

Mirajane had to force back a squeal. She’d expected as much, but it was always validating to hear it voiced aloud. “_Like _ like him?” 

She rubbed her shoulder. “I don’t know. I’ve never really had friends before, besides Gajeel, so I’m having a hard time telling.” 

Mirajane nodded thoughtfully. “That’s understandable. Gray is… an interesting guy. If you do decide you like him, it likely would take a lot to get him to notice, or like you back. So I’d be careful with that.” 

Juvia sighed. “Yeah, okay.” 

Mirajane nudged her shoulder. “Come on. Don’t look so glum. That whole group is hopeless when it comes to romance. You would not  _ believe _ how long it took for Erza to realize I was asking her out on dates, not ‘oddly simple and fun jobs.’” 

* * *

“Breathe in,” Porlyusica said. 

Wendy took a breath. 

“Breathe out.” 

She let the breath out. 

The healer sighed and backed away. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Makarov. We all know how this works at this point. There’s nothing I can do for her.” 

Wendy fidgeted with her fingers. She knew Porlyusica couldn’t do anything for her. But somehow hearing it made it worse. 

The Master’s frown deepened. “But  _ why?  _ Why did this happen to her? Natsu used his magic so much more than her and was years older.” 

Wendy curled in on herself. Natsu and Gajeel  _ still _ hadn’t come home, and she was getting worried. What if they were in danger? Was it her fault? Did they feel guilty because of what was happening to her? 

“Miss McGarden’s theory is a possibility. Her body and magic could be reacting to her brothers’ changes, adapting to be like them.” She shook her head. “Or… something could have triggered all their changes to begin at the same time. Wendy’s likely would have been much slower because she doesn’t use her magic as much as Natsu, and because her element is air, no one would have noticed it forming in her lungs. Honestly, the transformation might have been going on all this time. I suspect we’ll never know for sure.” 

Makarov sighed. “Thank you, Porlyusica. Come on, Wendy dear. Let’s get out of her hair.” 

Wendy slid out of her chair and tailed after the master. 

* * *

“So you finally decided to let sweet, little Wendy’s transformation begin,” Metalicana laughed. 

Grandine huffed. “I didn’t  _ let _ anything happen,” she said. “It just finally started becoming more physical, like the boys.’ She knew better than to overuse her magic like Igneel’s brat, and unlike  _ you, _ Metalicana, I did not urge my child’s transformation on. I regret that she must go through with this.” 

Had it been possible, Metalicana would have rolled his eyes. “You knew this would happen the second you chose her as yours. You knew that  _ before _ you chose her.” 

“That may be, but had I believed  _ at all _ that Acnologia could be defeated by a human, I would have done everything in my power to let her remain that way. I don’t need a dragon for a child,” she said. 

“I don’t care if my son is a human or a dragon,” he said. “He is what he is, and is a bastard no matter what form he’s in. Personally, I believe it was more cruel to let her believe, even for a while, that she could have stopped the transformation.” 

Grandine snarled. “I don’t give a damn what you think.” 

Metalicana roared with laughter. “At least we didn’t trick our children into thinking they killed us.” 

Despite her current frustration with her old friend, Grandine smiled. “Yes… Weisslogia and Skiadrum truly are pieces of work. I can’t even imagine what Rogue and Sting must be dealing with. At least our children found each other.” 

He hummed. “Well, whether which of us was right or not, there is nothing to do about it now. I think Igneel regrets our plan greatly, but then again, that boy turned him ridiculously soft.” 

Grandine sighed. “I don’t regret it. I still believe it is the only way. But I do wish there  _ had _ been another way. We may have saved the children’s lives, but truth be told, death may have been kinder than what we made them for.” 

* * *

“We should go back,” Gajeel said. “This was stupid. The two of us ain’t gonna find a damn dragon out here in the woods like this, fuckin’ weird magical feeling or not.” 

Natsu sighed and stared into their campfire, admiring how delicious the flames looked. “Yeah…” 

He’d followed Gajeel as soon as he ran off in the wake of Wendy’s transformation. Stubborn and angry and too upset to face their little sister, the pair of them tore off the search of a dragon, not caring for the fact that it was damn near impossible to find one, and they were  _ never _ just going to run into one like that. 

But… they discovered a strong, strange magic in these woods. 

It didn’t belong to a dragon. Obviously not. But… they couldn’t just leave it alone. They followed the feeling deeper into the woods, and it was close now.  _ So close. _ Natsu had no idea what it was, but… he couldn’t just  _ leave _ it. 

But Gajeel was right. Wendy needed them. They’d been stupid enough to leave her like that, and the longer they were away, the worse it was going to get. 

“We’ll go back in the morning,” Gajeel said. “Tell the guild about this weird feeling, ‘n maybe we can come back. Or at least,  _ someone _ will.” 

Natsu nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.” He turned away from the fire to stare into the dark trees. 

He didn’t know quite how to describe the power. It felt heavy, but also…  _ empty _ at the same time, as if whoever,  _ whatever, _ it belonged to didn’t know the purpose of it either, didn’t know what to direct it towards. 

He shook his head. Gajeel was right. They needed to get Erza, or Mirajane, or Levy out here. Someone that was better at sensing different types of magic and who they belonged to. Natsu could do little more than feel it and tell if the power was rising. He had a feeling Gajeel was about the same. 

“Hey…” Natsu rolled his shoulders and shifted to lean against against a tree trunk. “Has your back been hurting?” 

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” 

“You know, back hurts,” he said. “Along the spine, and shoulder blades. Mine’s been bothering me, but I can’t figure out why. It’s never done that before and I haven’t hurt it recently or anything.” 

His brother sighed and tossed another hunk of wood onto the fire. “Because y’er askin’ me, I think you already know what’s up.” 

Natsu chewed at his lip. Was it really that obvious? “Great…” 

“Have that bitchy healer lady take a look when we get back,” Gajeel suggested. “‘M sure she can figure out if you’re really sproutin’ wings.” 

“God, don’t say that,” Natsu said, jerking back up. “That’s… that’s…” 

“Hey, you’re the one who brought it up,” Gajeel said. “Besides, you ain’t really looking human at all these days.” 

He huffed. “Like you’re any better.” 

Gajeel inspected his clawed hands. “No, I’m not.” 

“You really think Levy’s idea will work?” he asked. “The dragon blood thing?” 

He was silent for a minute, letting his hands fall back into his lap and staring hard at Natsu. “Yeah, I think it’ll work.” 

He took a deep breath. “But not for us, huh?” 

“Heh.” Gajeel smiled. “No, I don’t think so. I think it’ll be too late for us, by the time someone manages to hunt down a dragon.” 

Natsu nodded, falling back against the tree again. So he wasn’t just feeling hopeless and being whiny. Gajeel had come to the same conclusion. 

“Doesn’t help that we’re fucking dumbasses and keep usin’ our magic all the damn time,” he continued. “But… maybe we can find one for Wendy. And we can hunt down Sting and Rogue while we’re at it, help them. Hell, maybe after the transformation’s done they could even use our blood.” 

Natsu hummed. He hadn’t even thought of that. His transformation was moving the fastest out of all of theirs. If his blood would really work, he might even be able to save Gajeel if it kept up like this. 

It made him feel a little better, thinking that he could save his siblings, as he curled up on the ground to go to sleep. 

* * *

Erza stared at Mystogan as he left the Master’s office. She didn’t even try to disguise what she was doing. She wanted to talk to him, dammit! But the past few days he always slipped off before she could corner him. 

And she needed to hurry. He was only ever around for a few days, and was bound to be taking off for who knew how long any time. 

She didn’t know what quest he might be trying to take this time. He hadn’t even approached the request board since he’d been in, so whatever he was up to, it was either personal, or a secret. 

She’d debated asking the Master what was up with him a few times, but decided against it. Natsu had pestered him about Mystogan many times before, and nothing came of it. She doubted she would get different results. 

He glanced at her as he passed by her table. “Erza.” He gave her a slight nod, then continued on his way. 

She narrowed her eyes. Why was he  _ so damn familiar? _ It was infuriating! 

She shot to her feet and followed him out of the guildhall. She was going to get some goddamn answers. 

“Hey, Mystogan!” she called, rushing to catch up to him. 

He glanced over his shoulder as she approached. “Can I help you?” 

“Yeah.” She spun him around and glared. “What the hell are you up to?” 

“Pardon?” he asked. 

Erza  _ tch _ ed. She hated not being able to see his face. How was she supposed to read him with it covered like that? “You heard me.” 

“My, my, Titania,” he said. “Have Natsu and Gray finally worn off on you? Looking for a fight?” 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Of course not! I just want to know what kind of jobs you take that have you gone so long. Is that so odd?” 

His eyes narrowed. “It is when you’ve never cared before.” 

“Who says I haven’t? Maybe I just finally felt like asking you about it,” she said. 

He hummed. “No… you definitely didn’t. Tell  _ me, _ why  _ do _ you care so suddenly? What changed your mind?” 

She crossed her arms. He was definitely being a lot more difficult than she had expected. She got the feeling he would continue to be difficult unless she gave in, at least a little. “You remind me of something, but I can’t figure out what.” 

He stiffened. “I do?” 

She nodded. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, clearly forcing his shoulders to relax. “And I take long, dangerous jobs because I prefer working alone, and most don’t want to be gone from friends or family for so long.” 

Well that answer didn’t satisfy Erza  _ at all.  _ “And you don’t have any friends or family that you miss?” 

He shrugged. “None that I feel the need to see so often.” 

She hummed, not pleased with the answer, but what else could she do? He wasn’t going to give her a straight one. “Well… I suppose I’ll leave you alone then.” 

“Thank you,” he said, voice soft, turning to go. 

She went rigid. 

_ Thank you.  _ That voice… 

She lunged forward and ripped his mask down before he could react. 

He froze, eyes going wide as she stumbled backwards a few paces. “No… No, this can’t be right.” 

“Erza—” he attempted. 

“Jellal,” she breathed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting super excited to bring Jellal back and for more interactions between him and Erza. Also I'm not really going to do much with the Nirvana arc, but I'll touch a little bit on the Oracion Seis. But because of that, Edolas is coming up soon, and I'm definitely super pumped up for that. I'm gonna have so much fun with the Edolas counterparts and Mystogan, so much fun, guys!


	22. Remnants of Nirvana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza demands explanations from Mystogan, and Natsu, Erza, Gajeel, and Wendy go to investigate a strange magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaand I'm already back. Damn, having a working laptop charger does wonders

“I am not who you think I am,” Mystogan said, raising his hands. “I can assure you of that, Erza.”

Erza gaped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. “But…” 

He shook his head. “I am not Jellal. I am Mystogan.” 

If that was really true (and well, it  _ must _ be, Jellal was gone, and Mystogan had been a member of the guild for years, it didn’t make sense), then  _ why _ did they look identical? Were they related somehow? “Are you brothers?” she managed to ask. 

He shook his head. “No. Truthfully, Erza, I have never even met your friend, though I had heard of him. I promise, I am not him, nor are we related in any way.” 

“Then how—” 

He shook his head. “I must be going now.” He tugged his mask back up. “I’ll see you around.” 

She was too shocked to stop him. 

_ Who _ was Mystogan? 

* * *

The second Natsu trudged into the guildhall, he was greeted by Erza’s fist to his face. “How  _ dare _ you run off and leave Wendy like that!?” she shrieked. 

Natsu stumbled backwards into Gajeel’s chest, who received the same greeting. 

He grunted, and rubbed at his jaw. 

“You know she’s hardly spoken? She’s  _ distraught!  _ And the two people who would understand, who are supposed to take care of her,  _ up and left!”  _ she continued to shout, dragging them through the guildhall by their shirts, before forcing them down at a table. “You’re both so  _ stupid!”  _

Natsu hung his head. He didn’t need Erza to tell him this. He already knew, and he felt  _ awful _ about it. He had no idea how he was supposed to face his sister. 

“Well?” She placed her hands on her hips and leaned over them. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourselves?” 

Gajeel pressed against the back of the seat. “Now I know why y’er so scared of her, man,” he muttered. 

Natsu couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Erza growled. 

He shrank back. “I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah well, it’s not me you need to apologize to,” she said. “She’s been staying with me, and aside from being upset, she’s okay. A few more teeth have fallen out, but the fangs haven’t even finished developing yet.” 

Natsu ran his tongue along his own teeth. A few more had fallen out recently, and he was up to twelve fangs. Not all of them were nearly as noticeable as the ones where his canines and incisors had been, but still there nonetheless. 

“You want me to go get her? She’s probably curled up behind the bar with Mira,” she said. 

Natsu didn’t reply, but Gajeel nodded. 

A few moments later, she returned with Wendy in tow. She nudged her forward. “I already yelled at them,” Erza said. “But I encourage that you do so as well.” Then she stomped off. 

“Wendy, I’m so sorry!” Natsu exclaimed, grabbing her and pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” 

She didn’t hug him back, just stood stiff and still. Finally she whispered, “Why did you leave me?” 

He choked back a sob. “I don’t know.” 

Gajeel pulled both of them towards him. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who ran off in the first place,” he said. 

Wendy went limp. “I-I’m scared.” 

Natsu squeezed her tighter. “We’ll get it figured out. You’re going to be okay. I promise. And I mean it. You’ll be perfectly okay.” And she was. Gajeel was right. His blood could be used to save his sister. If he had to use his magic constantly to speed up the transformation just to ensure she’d stay human, then so be it. 

“How could you promise that?” she asked. “You don’t know if we’ll find a dragon.” Her voice began to wobble as she started to cry. 

“Ah, no, come on. You got one right here,” he said. “I’ll let you use my blood.” 

“Huh?” she squeaked. 

“I’ll be a dragon  _ way _ before you, so you can use my blood to keep ya human,” he said, pushing her back and ruffling her hair. “So you’ve got nothin’ to worry about.” 

Gajeel hummed. “He’s right, Wendy. At least one of us will have blood we can use.” 

She jerked backwards. “But I don’t want you to be dragons either!” 

Gajeel shrugged. “There’s not much that we can do about that, brat. It’s simple. There just ain’t dragons around anymore.” 

“But what about that black one Gray read about?” she asked as more tears streamed down her cheeks. 

“We’ll keep looking,” Natsu assured her. “I’m just sayin,’ even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll still be fine.” 

“But—” 

He shook his head. “Come on, don’t argue. This is the best we’re gonna get. And I’m sorry. I promise I won’t leave you like that again. Right, Gajeel?” 

Gajeel grunted. “Yeah, ya little brat, y’er never getting rid of us.” 

* * *

“I suspect what you two sensed was an issue that several guilds are already dealing with,” Makarov said. 

“Huh?” Gajeel asked. 

Makarov set aside his pile of paperwork. “Not too long ago, a request for strong guild members was called in, for an alliance of sorts, to deal with a group of criminals known as the Oracion Seis and a weapon, the Nirvana. I declined. Due to recent events, we’re down most of our more powerful wizards.” 

Natsu shifted uncomfortably. Had the Master really turned down something like that because of the things that were happening to him? To Wendy and Gajeel? To Gray? 

“It wasn’t so much that I thought you lot couldn’t handle it, just that it was okay for someone else to. I know that Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale are members of this alliance, and I’m sure several other guilds joined as well, especially after I refused to send any Fairy Tail members,” he continued. “But you were out in that area, so yes, that conflict, or weapon, was probably what you were sensing.” 

“Oh.” Honestly, Natsu was a little disappointed. He’d wanted to go find out what it was himself, and hoped it was something cool and interesting. 

“I don’t know.” Gajeel scratched at his chin. “It sure as hell wasn’t no battle that I sensed out there, and I don’t think it was a weapon, either. It had to have been a person.” 

Natsu hummed. Maybe Gajeel was better at sensing magic than he thought he was. 

Makarov sighed. “If you truly think it’s something worth investigating and not involved with this conflict, I won’t prevent you and several other members from going to check it out. But I personally don’t think it’s worth it.” 

Natsu shook Gajeel’s shoulder. “Come on! Let’s go! I wanna see what it is!” 

“Aaahhh.” His brother nudged him away. “Not without Wendy.” 

“‘Course not,” he said. “Let’s get her and go.” 

“Be careful!” Makarov called as they left his office. 

“Let’s bring Erza!” Natsu suggested. “She’s super good at sensing magic and stuff.” 

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t she super pissed at both of us right now?” 

“Eh, I’m sure she’ll get over it,” he said. “And this will be a good distraction.” 

“Mmhm. You bringin’ that ice bastard you hang around a lot, too?” he asked. 

Natsu shook his head. “Nah, he’s going on a job with Juvia. I think they’re leaving sometime today, if they haven’t already. He told me about it earlier.” 

“He better treat her right, or I’ll have to kill ‘im,” he said. 

_ “Huh?” _ Natsu started. “The hell did Gray do to you?” 

“Nothin.’ But if he’s gonna date Ju, then—” 

_ “Dating?” _ Natsu demanded. Gray didn’t date people! That didn’t happen! And he  _ definitely _ wasn’t dating  _ Juvia! _ That just didn’t make any sense! 

“Come on, man,” Gajeel laughed. “Y’er almost twenty. You tellin’ me you still don’t have this kinda stuff figured out?” 

Natsu hunched his shoulders. “Shut up! I got better things to do!” 

“Didn’t you have a girlfriend?” he asked. 

He sighed. “No… She wasn’t my girlfriend.” He knew a lot of people thought that, and he never really disputed it, but he was pretty sure Lisanna hadn’t been his girlfriend. Or at least,  _ they’d _ never had a conversation about it. “She was just…” 

“Yeah, okay. Sorry I brought it up,” Gajeel said. 

* * *

“You want to go chase down some weird magic, when you have no idea what it belongs to?” Erza asked. 

The dragon slayers nodded. 

She sighed. She really,  _ truly _ had no interest in this. Especially not after her encounter with Mystogan. Not to mention she was still angry with the pair for leaving Wendy like they did. But, well, it wasn’t like she had anything better to do. 

Also, if she let them go alone, god knew what kind of trouble they might get into without someone to supervise. 

“Fine,” she agreed. “We can leave tomorrow. But we’re not staying long. If we don’t figure out whatever it is pretty much immediately, we’re coming back.” She didn’t see the point, when no one was paying them, and they had no idea if this power even really existed beyond a sense of intuition. 

Natsu grinned. “Hell yeah! We’re gonna have a great time, just watch!” 

She hummed. “Sure.” 

“We will!” he insisted. “It’ll be like a fun camping trip.” 

It most definitely would  _ not, _ but if this would help the dragon slayers take their minds off their issues for a little while, she could indulge them. She had a feeling that was why they were so insistent about finding this magic power, when truly, there was no point to it. They were frantically searching for distractions, taking anything they could find, avoiding being idle like their lives depended on it. 

“So it’s just us and Wendy going?” she asked. 

They nodded. 

“Yeah, we’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning, Natsu, Gajeel.” She turned away from the pair and went to the bar to chat with her girlfriend. 

* * *

“Just a heads up,” Juvia said, staring out of the train’s window. “I haven’t actually spoken to my father in over ten years.” 

_ “What?” _ Gray demanded, jerking forward. She was bringing him to meet the man, and ask that he  _ bond _ them, and they didn’t even  _ talk?  _

She nodded. “Don’t worry, I sent a message on ahead, so he’s expecting us, and he knows why.” She sighed. “It’s not that we don’t get along or anything, but the village we lived in wasn’t my biggest fan, so it was easier just to leave. I never really told him goodbye or anything, and then I got caught up with Phantom Lord, and more or less, felt too guilty to face him again.” 

“Oh…” Suddenly he felt bad that he was the reason she had to talk to him. Then again, maybe it would be better for both of them. It didn’t sound like they  _ wanted _ to be estranged from each other. 

“Don’t worry. He’s a kind man. I’m sure he’ll understand the situation,” she said. 

Gray frowned. He knew better than most how much someone could change over the years, but he decided not to mention that. 

He really hoped Juvia’s father could do what she said. Even now, the black markings itched as they spread, ever so slowly. By now, they covered half his body. He’d had to have Mirajane redo his guildmark, in white this time. Right now, it only covered a small sliver of his face, slicing up over his eye (the  _ normal _ one), but he knew if it was left unchecked, it wouldn’t be long before his face was covered as well. 

He hadn’t had any more fits like when he fought Bixlow, but that was likely because he’d been doing everything in his power to avoid fights, even his and Natsu’s petty spats. 

He was terrified of losing control like that again. What if he lost control and no one could snap him out of it? What if he seriously hurt someone? What if he  _ killed _ them? 

He had no idea what he would do if that happened. 

He just hoped this worked. 

* * *

Lucy was finally able to recover enough magical energy to open Loke’s gate. “Okay, let’s get the details of your contract worked—” She cut herself off, eyes growing wide. “What are you  _ wearing?”  _

Loke smirked. “You like?” He tugged on his jacket. 

She sputtered. Since when did Loke wear  _ suits?  _ How dare he look so damn good in it! At his amused expression, she glared. “Like I said, we need to get the details of your contract worked out.” 

He waved her off and went to sit on her couch. “Please. Call me anytime. None of that contract bullshit. I’m gonna be popping up all the time anyways.” 

She sighed. “I figured as much. Speaking of which, Cana’s been missing you. You should spend some time with her.” 

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? Cana  _ misses _ me sleeping on her couch?” 

“She’d never admit it, but yeah,” she said. 

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll stop by tonight.” 

“Good. Don’t leave her in the dust without at least some kind of warning,” she said, leaning back against her chair. 

“I’m a little offended that you think I’d drop you all like that just because I got my powers back,” he said. “I  _ do _ care for her, the rest of the guild, too.” 

She hummed. “Whatever you say. You’ve definitely been absent a lot the past few days.” 

“Just catching up with everyone,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them. That, and I’ve been absorbing my power. It didn’t all just snap back to me like that. It takes some time.” 

Lucy nodded. “I figured it was something like that, but I wasn’t sure. By the way, do you want me to call you Leo, or…” 

He shrugged. “I don’t care. Call me whatever you want.” 

“I’ll stick with Loke then,” she said. “I don’t know. Leo just… doesn’t seem right.” 

He laughed. “What? Do I not match your preconceptions of the king of the zodiac spirits?” 

She shook her head. “Definitely not.” 

He jumped off her couch. “Fair enough. I’m off to see Cana.” With a wave, he left her apartment. 

* * *

“This is definitely the place the alliance of guilds had been fighting,” Erza said when they arrived. “Look.” She pointed towards the old ruins scattered everywhere. “It’s a disaster.” 

“Asked around last night,” Gajeel said. “Heard they managed to bring in the Oracion Seis. Pretty impressive.” 

Erza agreed. The group of criminals had been high on the magical council’s wanted list ever since they first appeared. She was actually a little surprised they had finally managed to get caught after all this time. “Yes,” she said. “I heard the weapon they tried to activate was devastating.” 

The Master had called it the  _ Nirvana, _ and supposedly, it was able to completely reverse a person’s moral standing. Erza shuddered to think about the chaos such a thing could cause. 

“You’re sure what you sensed wasn’t just the conflict?” she asked. 

Natsu and Gajeel shook their heads. 

She could admit, the forest around them had a strange magical presence surrounding it, but she suspected most of it was due to such powerful magic users clashing. She thought she might sense the lingering traces of something beneath it, perhaps covered by the chaos. 

She sighed. “I guess you might have been on to something. I can feel a powerful magic here, even if it is mingled with everything else now.” 

“I told you!” Natsu exclaimed, jumping up and down. 

“What about you, Wendy?” Erza asked, turning to the little girl. “Do you feel anything?” 

She shrugged. “I don’t know. The air just feels… strange.” 

Gajeel sniffed the air. “Hey, is there still council members crawlin’ around out here?” 

Erza frowned. “I doubt it. They would have rounded up the Oracion Seis as quickly as possible.” 

Natsu closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His eyes snapped back open, dangerously angry. “How the  _ hell _ is that  _ bastard _ still alive?” he snarled. 

“Huh?” Gajeel gave his brother a weird look. 

Natsu grabbed Erza’s shoulders. “He died, didn’t he? You  _ saw _ Jellal die, right?” 

“W-What?” she asked, taking a step backwards. “I…” Why was he asking about Jellal? What did he have to do with any of this? “Well he… he merged with the etherion, to keep it from exploding. I would think that would kill anyone.” 

Deep growls vibrated through his chest. “Then why do I smell him? Why’s he out here?” 

_ “What?” _ Erza demanded. “That’s impossible!” She couldn’t  _ deal _ with this right now! First Mystogan, and now  _ this!  _

Natsu turned and marched through the trees. “I’m gonna fucking kill him!” 

“Natsu, wait!” Erza chased after him. 

“Who the fuck’s Jellal?” Gajeel asked as he grabbed Wendy and followed them. 

“A  _ bastard!”  _ Natsu replied. 

“But Natsu…” Wendy said, voice soft. “Didn’t Miss Erza say he saved your lives?” 

“I don’t give a damn what he did in the five seconds before he supposedly  _ died,” _ he snapped, still tearing through the trees. “That bastard deserves to die for what he did, how many lives he ruined.” 

“I still don’t know who he is,” Gajeel muttered. 

“He… was a childhood friend of mine,” Erza said. “But then he… something happened, and he turned on me, on everyone, and began building a tower meant to aid in resurrecting Zeref. He was who we fought, a couple weeks ago. I’m sure Juvia told you.” 

Gajeel’s gaze darkened. “He’s the one who hurt you all so bad?” 

“Technically, yes,” she said, still unsure how she felt about the whole situation herself. “But… He  _ did _ save our lives in the end, and I… I think he was possessed, when he did what he did.” 

Wendy curled against Gajeel’s chest. “He put a muzzle on me…” 

Gajeel snarled. 

Erza took a shaky breath. She needed to get a handle on this before the dragon slayers got angry enough she could never hope to calm them back down. “Okay, Natsu, I assume you’re following his scent?” 

He nodded as smoke began to curl from his mouth. 

“Alright. When we find him,  _ don’t _ do anything to him. At the very least, we need to figure out how he survived and why he’s here, understand?” she said. 

It took a moment, but Natsu reluctantly agreed. 

Despite the fact that she braced herself for it, that she knew he was here, and had a few moments to come to terms with the fact that Jellal was  _ alive, _ Erza was not prepared to find him lying in a clearing. 

Natsu surged forward and grabbed him, slamming him against a tree. Jellal’s head slumped forward. 

“Dude, he’s unconscious,” Gajeel said. 

With a hiss, Natsu let him go, to slide ungracefully back to the ground. 

“Natsu,” Wendy said after Gajeel set her down. “Why don’t you let Miss Erza handle this?” 

Natsu glanced at her, and took a step back, letting her approach Jellal. 

She kneeled down and brushed the hair out of his eyes. He looks so calm and serene like this, peaceful. Nothing like the man at the Tower of Heaven. 

He was already stirring, probably thanks to Natsu’s brutal greeting, so it didn’t take much to wake him up. 

Slowly, his eyes opened. 

“Jellal?” 

He gazed up at her. A small cough escaped him. “Who… Who are you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose I'll say this here since I've never explicitly stated it, but in this AU, Jellal never infiltrated the magic council, and they never really knew what went on at the Tower of Heaven, so technically, he's not a criminal, which is why he wasn't arrested. 
> 
> And yeah, I'm thinking maybe two (three at the most) more chapters, and then we're getting into Edolas!


	23. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray and Juvia meet with her father, and Erza copes with discovering Jellal and his memory loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a super fun chapter to write, and I hope you all enjoy it!

Their little cottage hadn’t changed, even after all these years. Sure, some of the paint had started to chip a little, and the roof could probably use some repairs, and one of the windows had a crack running through it, but it still felt like  _ home.  _

Thankfully, no one had recognized Juvia as she and Gray had walked through the village. She  _ was _ ten years older, she supposed. The little, rain soaked girl she had once been was all these people knew. 

“Nice place,” Gray commented. 

She let out a small laugh. “It’s a little small, and kind of in the middle of nowhere.” 

He shrugged. “My old village was the same way.” 

She thought about comforting him, but knew that wasn’t why he’d said it. Besides, she was pretty sure she was just stalling, now. 

With little else to do, she took a deep breath, steeled herself, and knocked on the door. After a few moments of nothing happening, her shoulders drooped. 

“Maybe he’s out somewhere,” Gray said. “We didn’t exactly specify a time.” 

“Yeah…” she said. “I guess you’re ri—”

The door swung open. “Juvia?” 

“Oh…” Her  _ father. _ He’d aged, a few wrinkles around his eyes, a few streaks of gray in his blue hair. “Dad!” 

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “You’ve gotten so big!” 

She melted into his touch and buried her face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long.” 

He pulled back and shook his head. “We can talk about that later. I’m just glad you did come back. I almost didn’t believe it when you sent me that letter.” 

Juvia laughed, and wiped a tear from her eye before anyone could notice it. 

“It doesn’t rain anymore?” he asked. 

She shook her head. “No, I figured out a way to make it stop.” It had finally stopped raining after Gajeel took her in, became the first true friend she’d ever had. “A couple years ago…” 

His easy smile faded. “And you didn’t come back?” 

Before she could answer, Gray cleared his throat. “Would you like me to give you two a while?” 

Her father’s eyes widened as he focused on Gray for the first time. “Juvia, you didn’t tell me it was already this bad.” 

Gray winced. 

He held the door further open. “Come inside. We can talk.” 

The inside of their house hadn’t changed much either, other than the fact that it looked far less lived in. Then again, it had lost two of its residents within a few months. 

“I’m Gray Fullbuster,” Gray said as he held his hand out to shake, the one  _ without _ the markings, she noticed. “Thanks for… you know… this.” 

Her father shook his hand. “Jason Lockser. And it’s no trouble, young man. I admit, I would not have dealt with you the way my daughter has, but if this is how she wants to do it, I’ll help how I can.” 

Juvia sighed as Gray grimaced. Could her father really not have left out subtlety saying he would have killed Gray? 

“So,” her father said as they sat down at the dining room table. “How did this happen?” 

“You mean… us meeting? Or… him becoming a demon at such a young age?” Juvia asked. 

He interlocked his fingers. “How you met. Ur taught him magic, which is why this is happening to him so soon.” 

Gray’s eyes widened. “Wait… You… You’re the one who met with her that night! When I was little!” 

“Ur told you about me?” her father asked, clearly shocked. 

He shook his head. “No. I… I might have eavesdropped on your conversation. I didn’t hear much, but…” 

He hummed. 

“We met during a fight between our guilds,” Juvia interrupted. “After Gray’s guild defeated mine, their Master extended the offer to let me join Fairy Tail. I accepted.” 

“I know I don’t know much about it, but I thought that conflict was banned between guilds,” her father said. 

Juvia nodded. “Yeah… Phantom Lord was… not a good place. We were…  _ I _ was a criminal. If it weren’t for Fairy Tail, I likely would have been arrested.” 

Her father frowned. “I assume that’s the reason you never came home.” 

She nodded. 

He sighed. “Oh Juvia…  _ What _ have you gotten yourself involved in? I thought you refused our training because you didn’t want to live a dangerous life? Fairy Tail is… Well they’re… Don’t they get sent on all kinds of dangerous jobs?” 

“Not necessarily,” Gray said. “We get requests for dangerous jobs, sure. But she doesn’t  _ have _ to take those. There’s plenty of jobs that aren’t life threatening.” 

“And what about you?” he asked. “What kind of jobs do you go on?” 

“Uh…” Gray leaned back. “Whatever ones pay the best. But my team is one of the guild’s most powerful, so sometimes we get sent to do risky stuff.” 

Juvia almost rolled her eyes. Even when Gray’s team went out for  _ fun _ someone almost always ended up with their life in danger. She still couldn’t quite get over the fact that the whole Tower of Heaven fiasco was meant to be a  _ vacation.  _

Her father’s frown deepened. “My daughter mentioned Fairy Tail in her letter, as well as you and your  _ team,  _ I was curious to see what she was up to, so I did some research.” 

_ Oh god. _ Juvia covered her face with her hands. Fairy Tail’s reputation was… mixed, to say the least. And Gray’s wasn’t much better. Or Erza’s. Oh god, if he went anywhere  _ near _ Natsu’s… 

“I found all kinds of records of fights,” her father continued. “Almost every mission your guild is hired for involved fighting, even if it wasn’t necessary for the job. And  _ your _ team was one of the worst. Your entire guild is filled with violent, cocky fools.” 

“Father!” Juvia exclaimed. 

But surprisingly, Gray  _ laughed.  _ “Yeah, you ain’t wrong. But if Juvia wants to spend her time with a bunch of ‘violent, cocky fools,’ I think it should be up to her.” 

As her father began to fire back a retort, Juvia interrupted. “We’re not here to discuss my life decisions. If you like, I will talk to you about them later,  _ privately. _ We’re here to learn the spell that will stop Gray’s demonic blood.” 

Her father looked far from happy about the change in subject, but complied. “Fine. I suppose you told me as much in your letter.” He turned to Gray. “How long has this been going on?” 

He shrugged. “About a month or two.” 

His brows furrowed. “And it’s progressed this much?” 

Gray frowned. “I use magic  _ a lot _ in my line of work, and it seems to make it spread faster.” 

“It’s why we need to do this,” Juvia said. 

“And you’re convinced  _ you _ want to be the one bonded to him?” her father asked. “Does he not have other people that would do it?” 

Juvia huffed. “You know that it doesn’t work like that. The people have to compliment each other perfectly. Besides.” She shook her head. “Several of Gray’s closest friends aren’t exactly human either. I’m not sure it would work.” 

“Not human?” he demanded. 

Gray sighed. “Think Natsu’s like, half dragon at this point. Erza’s human, I think. Don’t know, she does some weird shit sometimes.” 

Juvia knew he was kidding about Erza, but decided she didn’t care enough to explain it to her father, who was growing increasingly confused by the minute. 

“So yes. It has to be me. I’m okay with it being me,” she said. “Stop kicking up such a fuss about it.” 

“Fine,” he said. “It’s actually not that complicated, and will probably be easiest if I just perform the spell for you, so let’s get started.” 

* * *

“Jellal… it’s me… It’s Erza!” she said, tightening her grip on his shoulders. How could he not recognize her? After  _ everything?  _

He was calm. Alarmingly so. “I’m sorry. I don’t know an Erza.” 

“Bullshit!” Natsu exclaimed. He marched forward to kneel next to Erza. “You almost killed her!” 

“I did?” Jellal forced himself up and pressed his hand against his head. 

“Yeah! You did!” Natsu snarled. 

Erza couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Jellal wasn’t playing dumb. Never mind the fact that wasn’t a strategy he’d ever try, but she could see it in his eyes. He didn’t  _ know her.  _ He didn’t recognize Natsu either. 

“Natsu…” she whispered. “I think he’s telling the truth. I don’t think he knows us.” 

The dragon slayer stood up and took a step back. “But… but that…” 

“Jellal,” she said. “What  _ do _ you remember?” 

His eyes widened. “Jellal? Is that my name? Does that mean you know me?” He tried to grab her shoulders but she flinched back. “You have to tell me who I am!” 

Natsu scoffed and retreated to stand next to Gajeel and Wendy, all while muttering, “I don’t buy this crap.” 

Erza just stared at him, her eyes tracing the red lines of his tattoo. “You’re… You’re Jellal Fernandes. I know you. You were… were…” He was what? Her friend? Her enemy? Something else? More or less than either of those things? How was she supposed to know? 

Surprisingly, it was Gajeel who took control of the situation, nudging Erza aside. “Alright man. I’m the only one here who’s never met ya before. So hows about you tell me  _ anything _ you do remember?” 

Jellal hummed and cocked his head. “There was nothing. Just nothing. And then these people… I don’t know what they did, but they did something that gave me  _ something.  _ Brought me here. They called themselves the Oracion Seis.” 

“The Oracion Seis brought you back to life?” Erza asked before she could stop herself. 

He jerked back. “ _ Back _ to life?” 

She bowed her head. “You… you were  _ dead, _ Jellal. There’s no way you weren’t.” For some reason, a tear slipped from her eye.  _ “Dead.” _

“I suppose that makes sense,” he mused. “The nothing.” 

Gajeel held his hand up to ward Erza away. “Right. So they dug ya out of the grave. You know why?” 

He turned his gaze to the ground. “I’m not completely sure. I think… they might have been trying to bring someone else back… but got me instead. Someone called, Zeref. I believe the name they said was Zeref.” 

Erza sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Natsu… isn’t that the name you shout in your sleep?” Wendy asked. 

Natsu’s eyes narrowed. “That’s what you guys have told me.” 

“Zeref?” Gajeel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You really haven’t heard of ‘im?” 

“Vague things,” Erza said. Mostly at the Tower of Heaven. 

“He was a powerful black wizard. Lotta dark guilds take inspiration from him. Couple of the crazier ones even wanna bring him back,” he said. “I came across some of the freaks on a job before.” He glared at Jellal. “So if that’s what they were tryin,’ why’d they get you instead?” 

Jellal shook his head. “I haven’t the slightest idea.” 

Theories ran through Erza’s head. She had several, and none of them were comforting. “You were trying to resurrect Zeref,” she said. “You died during the attempt. Their magic may have pulled back your soul…. Rather than his.” 

“That don’t make sense,” Natsu said. “You can’t just bring people back to life!” 

“Then how do you explain him?” Erza demanded, gesturing to Jellal. 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. He must not have been completely dead or something.” 

“And how do you know so much about bringing the dead back to life?” she asked. 

Natsu’s eyes suddenly seemed to get very far away. “I… I don’t know,” he muttered, voice quieter and calmer than it  _ ever _ was. “Something just tells me that it doesn’t work like that. There’s… consequences. The world doesn’t work that way.” 

Erza frowned and knitted her brows together. Why did he sound so  _ certain _ about that? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. “Well, whether he was truly dead or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s here now.” 

“Let me look at him,” Wendy suggested. “I know all kinds of medical things. I might be able to tell if he was really dead or not, as well as see if he has any injuries that could cause memory loss.” 

“You sure?” Gajeel asked. 

She nodded and stepped forward. 

“What happened after that?” Gajeel asked. 

Jellal gave Wendy a wary glance as she examined him, but let her. “They were confused, not happy about it. But they sensed my magic and wanted me to use it to help them activate a weapon of some sort.” 

“The Nirvana?” Erza asked. 

Gajeel shrugged. “Probably.” 

“It didn’t feel right, what they wanted,” Jellal continued. “Just something about it. But I did sense a powerful magic in me. So I decided to try and destroy it instead.” 

A soft smile found its way to Erza’s face. In her mind, that only proved that Jellal had been possessed. With no memory of anything or anyone, he still sensed that the Nirvana was wrong and needed to be destroyed. 

“There was so much chaos,” he said. “Fighting everywhere. I tried, and I don’t know why, but it didn’t work. The weapon… it activated anyway. It was eventually destroyed by other magic users, I helped how I could.” He let out a breath. “It must have taken a lot out of me, because that’s the last thing I remember before you guys woke me up.” 

Natsu sniffed. “Still don’t believe it.” 

“Ah, come on, ya jackass,” Gajeel huffed. “He ain’t lying. Don’t tell me you can’t sense it.” 

“He’s right, Natsu,” Wendy said as she pressed her head against Jellal’s chest, to listen for his heart and breathing. “I don’t think he’s lying. Nor do I think he was dead.” 

“Really?” Erza asked, leaning forward. 

She nodded. “His heartbeat is strong, and steady. The muscles would have atrophied, I believe. Even if he was brought back with magic, it should still be weak, and stuttering. I’ve never heard of any type of magic that can bring back muscles that have atrophied. That has to be done naturally.” 

“Told you,” Natsu said.

Erza frowned. “The other guilds just left you here?”

Jellal chuckled. “I can’t say I blame them. A lot was going on. Besides, I never really talked to any of them. Likely, they all assumed I was with someone else and left me to be helped by them.” 

“Well what now?” Wendy asked. “We can’t leave him out here. He doesn’t know anyone!” 

Natsu snarled. “Take him to the magic council. He’s a criminal.” 

“But Natsu!” Erza protested. “He helped destroy the Nirvana, and he  _ saved our lives!”  _

“After he tried to sacrifice you, Erz!” he argued. “He chained me and Wendy to a wall! He cut Gray’s eye out! And that’s just the stuff  _ I _ know about! God knows what else he did!” 

“I did what?” Jellal whispered. 

Erza grit her teeth. “I know! I know all of that! I just… It’s complicated.” 

“Why!?” Natsu demanded, getting in her face and baring his teeth. 

She realized that he was angry. At  _ her. _ They didn’t fight. Not like this. This wasn’t their playful arguments. This was something else. 

“‘Cause he’s some childhood friend of yours?” he continued. “That doesn’t fucking matter! He’s a monster, and he deserves the consequences!” 

Erza growled. What the hell did  _ he _ know about it? “I just got him back! The  _ real _ him! I don’t want him to rot in prison his whole life!” 

“It’s not up to you!” he shouted. 

“Natsu.” Gajeel grabbed his brother’s wrist. “Maybe she has a point. I got a second chance, after all.” 

“It’s not the same thing!” He jerked his arm away. “You didn’t  _ ruin lives—” _

“I might have,” he said. “I don’t know.” 

Natsu blazed right past the comment. “You didn’t enslave people!” 

“Maybe not, but I have killed people.” 

“You didn’t try to sacrifice someone you were supposed to care about to bring another monster back to life!” he shouted, before choking on the smoke that flowed from his mouth. 

“Well, you got me there,” Gajeel said. “But I still think we should at least think before tossing him at the magic council.” 

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it, Natsu?” Erza asked, cursing herself for not realizing it sooner. “It’s about what he did to Wendy, Gray,  _ me. _ Not his actual crimes.” 

Natsu froze. 

She sighed, before slapping him across the face. 

“Erza!” Wendy squeaked. 

“The fuck was that!?” Natsu demanded, rubbing his cheek. 

Jellal was just watching the disaster, confusion and worry flitting across his face. 

“You don’t have to protect us all the time!” Erza shouted as she stomped her foot. “Especially not from people I don’t want to be protected from! You don’t give a fuck about his  _ crimes,  _ at least not enough to send him to prison over them! Gajeel’s right. They’re no different.” 

“That’s not… really what I meant…” the iron dragon slayer tried to interject. 

“And Natsu, not to bring shit like this up, but it’s not like you’ve never hurt anyone innocent before, or killed someone,” she continued. 

He flinched back. 

“Miss Erza, why would you  _ say _ something like that?” Wendy asked. 

Gajeel hushed her. “Let them work this out.” 

“So admit it,” she continued. “This is a grudge based on what he did to me. Something that I’m willing to look past. You don’t get to decide something like that for me. Especially when you don’t even know him like I do.” 

Natsu growled. “So what if it is? You’re obviously not thinkin’ straight ‘cause you knew him! Sure, I’ve fucked up a few times, but never on purpose, and never on that scale!” 

“What if it was Igneel?” she demanded, knowing it was a low blow, but she was getting beyond irritated with his stubbornness. “What if he showed back up, and we wanted to kill him just because he was a dragon?” 

“That’s completely different!” he snapped. Fire began to flicker over his body, but Erza found she didn’t care. All that did was prove he was being over emotional. 

“Is it?” she asked, keeping her voice steady, if only to irritate him more. “Jellal was possessed when he did what he did. We would be blaming and punishing him for the actions of another, something he couldn’t control. Someone from my past, who I cared about dearly, is back, and you want to turn him over to the magic council and tell them what he did. If you do that, he will either be imprisoned for life, or executed.  _ Tell me _ how that would be any different from killing Igneel for being a dragon if he showed back up.” 

“Fine! Whatever!” he snarled. “Do whatever the hell you want with him! Just keep him the fuck away from me!” He turned around and stomped off. 

“I’ll go calm him down.” Wendy ran after him. 

“Damn, Scarlet, you don’t hold back,” Gajeel said after they were gone. 

She sighed. “Look, sometimes you have to dig your heels in with him. He was being ridiculous.” 

He shrugged and raised his palms. “Didn’t say I disagreed with ya.” 

“Did I really do all those things?” Jellal whispered. 

Erza forced her attention back to him. She’d almost forgotten he was  _ there. _ “No.” 

“But—” 

She shook her head. “Like I said. You were possessed. And you don’t even remember it.” 

He frowned and stared at the forest floor. “Maybe so, but he was right. I shouldn’t be allowed to just continue a life like normal if I hurt people.” 

“I already said I didn’t care—” 

He cut her off. “Erza? Right?” 

She frowned, but nodded. 

“Well… Erza… If I supposedly knew you, but hurt you so badly that that man reacted like that to me, I think it’s safe to assume that I probably hurt other people as well,” he said. “And just because you forgave me, doesn’t mean they would. It’s not fair for you alone to decide my fate.” 

“Jellal!” 

He shook his head. “No. I should be punished for what I did. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I get the feeling… that it was  _ bad.”  _ He took a deep breath and turned to Gajeel. “You seem to have a level head.” 

Gajeel’s eyes widened. “Uh…” 

“You said before that you don’t know me, so you must be unbiased,” he continued. “You decide.” 

“Hey! Woah!” He waved his arms. “Don’t pin that on me! I’m not havin’ my brother or Scarlet pissed at me, no way in hell!” 

“Please, sir,” he said. 

“Do  _ not _ call me sir,” Gajeel grumbled. But he sighed. “Look, just… Let’s just take him back to the guildhall. We’ll figure it out there.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing the argument between Natsu and Erza, so much. And yep, one more chapter, and then the Edolas arc begins!


	24. The Prisoner's Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia and Gray finish their bonding spell, and everyone arrives back at Fairy Tail

Gray wasn’t really sure what he had expected from Juvia’s father. But he found he couldn’t be surprised that he seemed to really not like him or Fairy Tail. He hadn’t dealt with fathers very often, but he’d been led to believe they were very protective of their daughters. 

He knew he wasn’t exactly the type of guy anyone would want their kid bringing home, weird demonic attributes aside. 

He did everything he could to make it abundantly clear that he and Juvia weren’t dating, but he was getting the sneaking suspicion that her father didn’t care. 

Despite all that, he was being nothing but helpful, even if he did have a ton of snide comments. 

“It’s blood magic,” he said after coming back to the kitchen table with an old, dusty book. “Have you ever done blood magic before?” 

Gray shook his head. 

Mr. Lockser sighed. “Great.” 

“Dad, please,” Juvia said quietly. 

He grimaced. “You’re going to have to mix blood with each other, via cuts or ingesting it. While you do that, I’ll link you together. It shouldn’t affect you too much. You already know it will halt the demonic transformation. Besides that, it might mingle your senses, and you’ll get flashes of what the other is seeing, hearing, feeling, et cetera.” He let out a weary sigh. “Eventually, you may end up so in sync bits of your magic may start to blend together.” 

“Uh…” Gray didn’t know about Juvia, but he wasn’t looking forward to  _ drinking _ her blood. No way. He couldn’t say he was too thrilled about their senses mashing together like that either. But it wasn’t like anything could be done about it. 

“If you want the strongest bond you can get, and I’d suggest it, considering the foothold the demonic blood and instincts already have, you need to mix blood through the cuts  _ and _ ingesting it.” 

Gray couldn’t help but shudder. That was  _ disgusting.  _

Juvia rubbed his shoulder. “It won’t be so bad. It doesn’t have to be a lot.” 

Her father handed him a knife. “Knock yourselves out. I can’t do anything until you combine blood.” 

Before he could think too much about it, Gray grabbed the knife and slid it across his wrist. He’d made the cut as shallow as he could and still draw blood. It stung, be he’d experienced far worse. “Well, if you’re really going to have to drink this, you got a cup or something?” 

“You’re not putting blood in my cups,” Mr. Lockser said with an eye roll. “Just drink it directly from the cut.” 

That was so much  _ worse.  _ It must have shown on his face, because Juvia grabbed the knife and cut into her own wrist. “Here, we’ll do this first.” She grabbed his wrist and pressed their cuts together. 

He hissed as his wound scraped against hers. 

They held their wrists together for a few moments, before pulling back. “That good enough?” he asked. 

Her father nodded. “It should be.” 

Gray eyed Juvia’s sluggishly bleeding wrist. God, this was horrible. It just felt so  _ intimate. _

(Which he supposed was fair, given what they were doing, but still). 

Hesitantly, he held her wrist, and brought it to his mouth. 

He did his best to just let the blood drip from the wound, doing everything he could to keep his tongue from touching her. 

Her blood was hot, and disgusting. Of course, he’d tasted blood before. How many times had he been punched in the face and gotten a mouthful? He hated the metallic tang of it, and hers was no different. 

As soon as he had enough to swallow, he pulled away, fighting back a gag. “No offense, but you taste disgusting.” 

Juvia chuckled as she hastily wrapped a bandage around the cut. “All right, give me your arm.” 

He held his wrist out, turning away as she brought it to her lips. He had to fight not to flinch back when he felt her tongue against his wrist. It felt so  _ odd. _

After she pulled back, she said, “You don’t exactly taste great either.” 

He huffed as he bandaged his wrist. “Not surprising.” 

“All right,” Mr. Lockser said as he snapped the book closed and set it aside. “Give me your hands.” 

Magic power flared as he took their hands. Soft, white light glowed around them, building with each second.

Little pinpricks of pain scattered through Gray’s bloodstream. He grit his teeth to keep from crying out. 

A few seconds later, Mr. Lockser let go. “Right, there we all. All done.” 

Gray’s gaze flitted between him and Juvia. “Really? That’s it?” 

He nodded. “It’s a simple spell, really, if you know purification spells meant to combat demons. It’s just applied in a slightly different manner, and combined with blood magic.” He shrugged. “Again, it’s simple.” 

“I don’t feel any different?” he said, frowning. 

“And you shouldn’t. Not really, anyway,” he continued. “It’s not supposed to alter you drastically. And it takes time to start sharing feelings with the person you’re linked with.” 

Gray wanted to ask how the hell they knew it even worked, but stopped himself. He didn’t know anything about it, and this man did. Besides, if it didn’t work, then so what? What could be done about it? 

“Thank you,” Juvia said. “Truly. I promise. He acts nothing like a demon.” 

Gray forced a smile. 

Her father gave him a look, but didn’t comment. 

“And Fairy Tail really is a good place,” she continued. “Filled with good people, even if they are a bit rough around the edges.” 

“You really enjoy it, don’t you?” he asked. 

Juvia nodded. 

“Well, then I suppose I can’t fault you. And you are twenty now. You’re perfectly capable of making your own decisions,” he said. “But I expect you to come visit a lot more often now.” 

Her nodding turned vigorous. “Of course! I promise!” 

“Do you happen to have any friends other than him?” He gestured to Gray. 

“W-Well…” 

Gray’s smile turned real. “‘Course she does! She’s got Erza and Natsu. And I’ve seen you hangin’ around Levy and Mirajane. Not to mention Gajeel.” 

“Oh, I don’t know if they consider me a friend.” She waved her hands, shaking her head. “They haven’t known me for very long. Well, aside from Gajeel, but you get the idea!” 

“Ah, shut up,” Gray said. “You’re being ridiculous. You’ve got plenty of friends.” 

* * *

“Gramps!” Natsu shouted as he barreled into the guildhall. “Erza brought home a criminal!” 

“Oh my god,  _ Natsu!”  _ Erza shouted, chasing after him. 

Lucy looked up from her book and rolled her eyes. There was always something with that group, each shenanigan more ridiculous than the last.

“God, is he really tattling on her like a little brat?” Cana asked, eyeing the pair as they tore through the guildhall, Gajeel and Wendy on their heels, dragging a very confused, disgruntled man with them, along with Happy and Charle, whining about how they’d left them behind and left without so much as a warning. 

“Who was that man?” she asked. 

Cana shrugged. “Fuck if I know.” Then she frowned. “Weird though. They don’t usually bring home stragglers.” 

“Natsu brought me back,” she pointed out. 

She smirked. “He must have realized you were my type and decided to do something nice.” She leaned over, draping her arm over Lucy’s shoulders. 

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s what he was thinking,” she said, but she didn’t try to get away from Cana’s grasp. 

Truth be told, Lucy wasn’t quite sure what she and Cana were. They’d had fun in the bedroom recently, drunk and sober, but they hadn’t really… talked about it. Were they girlfriends? Or was this just a fun fling to the brunette? And where did Loke factor into all of this? Sure, he’d made it clear he wanted all three of them in a type of relationship, but Lucy was still very unclear exactly how Cana felt about it. 

She supposed she could ask, but she had yet to find the courage. 

Because… she  _ liked _ Cana. And if this wasn’t serious to her, well, Lucy would like to keep herself in the dark a little while longer, if she could. 

Shouting from the Master’s office broke her out of her thoughts. She turned to Levy and Mirajane. “You two know what’s going on?” 

Levy shook her head. “They just got back. I tried to flag down Gajeel, but he ignored me.” 

Mirajane sighed. “Erza and Natsu are fighting. They haven’t done that in years.” 

Lucy frowned. They were fighting? But they always seemed so close and open with one another. 

“Better clear everyone out then,” Cana said, downing her booze. “Last time they fought they leveled a building.” 

_ “Seriously?”  _ Lucy demanded. 

Levy nodded, mouth set in a grim line. “You’ve met them, you really think they just fight verbally? When it’s serious, it always goes to blows.” 

“Didn’t anyone try and stop them?” Lucy asked. Damage control seemed pretty important with wizards as powerful as them. 

“I don’t know about you,” Cana said, pressing even closer. “But I sure as hell ain’t getting in between Natsu’s fireballs and Erza’s swords. I don’t have a fuckin’ death wish.” 

Lucy hummed.  _ I guess that’s fair.  _

“I hope Gray gets back soon…” Mirajane said. “He might be the only one able to calm them down.” 

The shouting continued, most of it unintelligible, marred by snarls and shrillness. 

“Ain’t you her girlfriend?” Cana asked, gesturing to Mirajane with her bottle. “Go in there and kiss her ‘til she shuts the hell up.” 

“Cana,” Lucy scolded. 

The bartender let out a weary sigh. “Maybe I could calm her down, a little bit for a little while, but as long as Natsu is angry, she’s just going to get angry all over again. Honestly, when they fight, it’s best to let them handle it in their own little trio.” 

“Tell me about it,” Gajeel grumbled as he approached, having slunk out of the Master’s office without them noticing. 

“Gajeel!” Levy exclaimed. “What’s going on?” 

He heaved a sigh. “Hey Strauss, I want some liquor.” He sat on the stool next to Levy. “I’m about to bash my head into a wall. I’ve been listenin’ to those two scream the whole way home. Me n’ Wendy just barely kept them from beating the fuck out of each other. Hell, think they might have lasting psychological damages from the things they said.” 

“Christ, that bad, huh?” Cana asked. 

“Oh yeah.” As soon as Mirajane placed the shot in front of him, he downed it. “Least Natsu just melted my face off and was done with it.” 

Occasionally, Lucy wondered if she should have tried to be friends with Natsu, since he was the one who brought her to Fairy Tail and all. 

Then she heard about something he did, or experienced the people he surrounded himself with, and she was relieved she never tried to befriend the dragon slayer. He was best left at a  _ coworker _ standing. 

“This whole guild is insane,” Lucy grumbled. 

“What are they fighting about?” Mirajane asked. “Is it because you two left Wendy like that?” 

Gajeel winced, but shook his head. “Nah, she yelled at us both for that and was done with it. This started ‘cause we found that Jellal bastard out in the woods and Erza wanted to let him off the hook.” 

Lucy didn’t know who Jellal was, but evidently Mirajane did. Her eyes widened and she rocketed over the bar, then she sprinted towards the Master’s office. 

Cana smirked. “Wonder whose side she’s gonna be on.” 

Levy sighed. “Honestly, that one could go either way. She’s protective enough she might beat Jellal’s ass herself, but also, she hardly ever thinks Erza’s wrong…” 

“Who’s Jellal?” Lucy asked. 

Gajeel got back up and waved. “I am done with that bastard. You just opened up a can of worms, Heartfilia. Have fun.” 

“What did Jellal do to Gajeel?” she asked, watching him retreat to a dark corner of the guildhall. 

Levy shrugged. “Nothing, as far as I know.” 

“Remember the Tower of Heaven?” Cana asked. “A few weeks ago, when Gray came in with a black eye?” 

Lucy frowned and nodded. It would be hard to forget Fairy Tail’s most powerful team stumbling in that morning, looking utterly defeated. She’d heard a little of what happened, and it had been horrifying. 

“Yep.” Cana nodded. “That was Jellal.” 

“Holy hell…” she whispered. “And Erza wants to just let him go?” 

Levy shrugged. “That’s what Gajeel made it sound like. There’s got to be more than that to it though. It just doesn’t make sense.” 

“Speaking of Gajeel…” Cana leaned towards the script mage with a dangerous smirk. “There a reason you looked so happy he was back?” 

Lucy’s eyes widened. 

“E-Excuse me?” Levy spluttered. 

“I won’t deny, he’s a fine piece of ass,” she continued. 

Lucy collapsed onto the bar, wanting to melt into it. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at poor Levy’s face. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she managed to protest. “I don’t even like him!” 

“Aw, come on,” Cana whined. “You can tell me, Lev! I never woulda pegged you for the kind of girl into punks like that.”

“I’m not!” she argued. 

“Cana, leave her alone,” Lucy said, forcing herself back up. 

She hummed. “Oh fine. Just ‘cause you asked, babe.” 

“I have to go,” Levy squeaked, sliding off her stool and fleeing as fast as she could with her leg brace. 

“Look what you did! You scared her off!” Lucy accused. 

“Oh, I did her favor. She’s never gonna realize she likes that metalhead if other people don’t point it out first,” she said. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “I think you might be reading into that. Or did you forget what he did to her?” 

Cana’s grin turned feral. “Maybe she likes—”

_ “Cana!”  _

She waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. But just so you know, pretty much everyone in this guild has tried to kill each other at least once.” 

She frowned. “No one’s tried to kill me.” 

“You ain’t been here that long,” she said. 

Lucy sighed. Every time she thought she might be getting used to things… 

“Gray! Oh my god, Gray! Thank fuck you’re back!” 

Lucy’s head snapped around as the different guild members crowded around the ice wizard and Juvia, demanding he go handle Natsu and Erza. 

It took a few moments, but after he learned what the situation was, he scowled and marched towards the Master’s office. 

Cana began to cackle. “Oh… this is gonna be fucking good.” 

* * *

Gray did not want to deal with this. He really, really didn’t. Not Jellal, and  _ definitely _ not Erza and Natsu’s fight. 

He threw open the door to the Master’s office. “Out,” he growled. “Everyone except Natsu and Erza.” 

Happy and Charle shot out immediately. The Master sighed and shook his head, but didn’t protest. Wendy tailed after him, and with a second glance at Erza, Jellal did as well. It took everything in Gray not to punch him as he walked by. Mirajane took an extra glare, but reluctantly, she left as well. 

“Now,” Gray said, slamming the door shut behind them. “Care to tell me why you two are being jackasses? ‘Cause from what I heard, you’re both being fucking ridiculous.” 

Natsu paced the length of the room, stomping his feet much harder than necessary. “I shoulda killed him my damn self,” he snarled, huffing enough smoke that Gray had to open the door again. “Then he wouldn’t be here to get away with all of this shit.” 

Erza kicked the Master’s desk so hard it flew backwards a few feet. “I told you he was possessed!” 

Gray groaned. “I think you’re both wrong, and I’m pretty sure everyone else thinks so, too. What did the Master say? Mira? Wendy?” 

“I don’t give a damn what they said!” Natsu shouted. 

“Shut the hell up,” Gray snapped. Evidently, taking a reasonable approach wasn’t going to solve this. “Both of you, shut the  _ hell up!”  _

Their mouths snapped shut, though a soft growl still thrummed from Natsu’s chest. 

“Here’s the thing, Erza,” he said. “Jellal was fucking deranged. He cut my fucking eye out. Possessed or not, he did some fucked up shit.” 

“I told you—” Natsu began as Erza growled.

Gray cut him off. “And Natsu, you’re being an ass! He  _ was _ possessed. He didn’t have complete control. So guess what, you’re both wrong.” 

Erza took a deep breath. “So then what are you suggesting?” 

“Listen to the Master’s ideas of what you should do,” he said. “Ain’t that why you brought him back to the guild in the first place? And if you don’t agree with any of his ideas, I tell you what.” He lunged forward and grabbed the collars of both of their shirts, pulling them close. Erza used this technique on Natsu and himself all the time, it was only fair to have it turned on her when she was acting ridiculous. “You can beat the shit out of each other, and the winner gets Jellal on a platter. Sound good?” 

Erza jerked back with a huff, and Natsu snarled. But… they nodded. 

“Good,” Gray said. “Now let’s go talk to the Master.” 

* * *

“I can’t believe Gray is the one with a level head,” Mirajane said as she collapsed into the booth next to Levy. 

The script mage managed to chuckle. “Could be worse. It could be Natsu.” 

Mirajane flopped against the back of the seat. “God, Levy, don’t joke about things like that. The day Natsu is the rational one is the day the world ends.” 

Levy sighed. It seemed the whole guild was always in disarray these days. They’d only just completely recovered from the Phantom Lord fiasco. It was hard to believe that had only been about a month ago. 

“So, what do you think they’re going to do with Jellal?” she asked, eyeing the man where he sat next to Gajeel across the guildhall. 

Mirajane bit her lip. “Master wants to keep him in the guild’s cells. He doesn’t think he should be allowed to just go free, obviously. But he doesn’t think it’s right to turn him over to the magic council. They think he was possessed, and aside from that, he’s completely lost all his memory.” 

Levy hummed. Honestly, the Master’s plan sounded like a good solution to her. They could keep a close eye on Jellal, and should he prove that he’d truly changed, and was capable of being trusted, well, they could start with a probation period and go from there. It was probably the fairest they could be, given the circumstances. 

Sure enough, it was officially announced a few hours later to the whole guild. No one was thrilled by the idea (even those who didn’t really know anything about Jellal), but no one complained either. Even Natsu grudgingly agreed to the plan. 

“I can’t believe we’re going to have some shifty guy living in our basement,” Cana whined as she walked by. 

“You let a shifty guy live on your couch for who knows how long,” Lucy said. 

“Are they together?” Levy asked after they were out of earshot. 

“I don’t think  _ officially,” _ Mirajane said. “But yeah.” 

She let out a small laugh. “It’s a little weird, everyone suddenly dating. I remember when you and Erza got together last year, and it was just so surreal. I know I didn’t join as young as most of you, but sometimes I forget we’re not all thirteen anymore.” 

Mirajane smiled. “Yes… sometimes I miss it.” 

Levy ran her fingers over her scarred wrists. “Yeah, me too…” 

* * *

Somehow, Gray ended up drawing the short straw and had to take Jellal to his cell. “And here’s where you’re living now, I guess.” He slammed the door shut. Just because he’d talked Natsu out of killing the guy,  _ did not _ mean that Gray liked him. 

“Thank you,” he muttered as he sat down and leaned against the wall. “Gray, was it?” 

He narrowed his eyes, nodding. He wasn’t sure how much stock he put in the memory loss schtick yet. 

“Sorry about your eye,” he said. 

Gray turned on his heel. “Whatever.” 

* * *

Mystogan raced towards Magnolia. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t felt the Anima opening before now. He’d just been there,  _ dammit!  _

He wasn’t going to make it in time. There was no way. 

Fairy Tail was about to have a very abrupt introduction to his home world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, remember that bnha fantasy au that I mentioned a while ago? Guess what?? It exists now! So if you like bnha you should totally go check it out! 
> 
> And it's officially Edolas time, fuck yeah, baby!


	25. Fairy Tail of Edolas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Anima opens above Magnolia, and the dragon slayers are left behind to deal with the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just as fun as I was hoping, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy were the first to sense something was wrong. Gray wasn’t far behind, followed by Mirajane and Erza. 

Wendy’s head snapped up. Something was coming. The air was unsettled, shifting in unnatural ways. The scent on the wind had changed. Rather than blowing the heavy scent of magic around, something smothered it out, as if this air had never been in contact with the energy. 

She glanced towards her brothers, to see them tense as well. Gajeel lifted his head to sniff at the air. “I don’t like this…” 

Natsu hunched his shoulders and began to growl, eyes warily darting around the guildhall, like a scared animal. 

Gray ran over to their table, leaving behind a very confused Juvia and Cana. 

“What the hell is this?” he asked, leaning on the table. “Why does the air smell,  _ feel _ so wrong?” 

Wendy’s eyes widened. “You can sense it too?” 

Pressure erupted from the sky, shoving down on them. 

Erza and Mirajane shot to their feet and began screaming for everyone to brace themselves, but the rest of the guild remained oblivious and confused. 

Gajeel scrambled over the table, grabbing Wendy and wrapping himself around her, shielding her from whatever was happening. 

The pressure became so intense, the rest of the guild finally began to panic.

Natsu grabbed Gray, much in the same way Gajeel had grabbed her. Gray must have been about to panic, because he didn’t even try to shove him off. “Why does everything  _ feel so wrong!?”  _ he shrieked, curling against Natsu. “It’s  _ wrong!”  _

Screams echoed around the guildhall as everything around them blurred. Wendy’s eyes widened as buildings crumbled and her guildmates began to dissolve into light. 

Natsu let out a horrified wail as Gray disappeared. “Gray!  _ Gray!”  _

Gajeel grabbed him and pulled him close as the guildhall collapsed around them. 

* * *

If Wendy had to guess, she thought she might have been unconscious for a few moments. She stirred, wriggling out of Gajeel’s limp arms. 

Rubble crumbled around her as she moved, sliding off her back and clattering to the ground. She shifted to shove at Gajeel. When he didn’t respond, she began shoving the bigger chunks of debris off his body. After she did what she could, she moved onto Natsu, who laid a few feet away. “Come on, please, wake up,” she whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know what to do.” 

Thankfully, he shifted, letting out a weak groan. As soon as his eyes cracked open, he jerked up. “Wendy, what the hell did you do to the sky!?” 

“Huh?” She looked up. The sky swirled above them, like a horrible storm was brewing. But that wasn’t the most terrifying part. A hole had opened in the sky, dark and menacing. “That wasn’t me!” 

“You’re the one with sky magic!” he argued. 

“Not like that!” she snapped, before sighing. “Natsu… what’s going on?” 

Her brother’s expression turned solemn. “I let him go… He was in my hands and I just….” His voice shook, almost like he was about to start crying. 

“That’s not your fault,” Wendy assured him. 

He grunted, gazing out over the ruins of Magnolia. “Are we the only ones left?” 

The realization that he was probably right left a horrible feeling in her chest. “Why us? What did we do?” 

Natsu sighed and shook his head. “Who knows.” He moved over to Gajeel and began nudging at him. “Come on, buddy. You gotta get up. We gotta get this figured out.” 

He did his best to hide it, but Wendy could see the smoke slipping from the corners of his mouth, and the way his hands shook. He was  _ terrified, _ and she knew why. “Erza and Gray will be okay. We’ll find them.” 

He froze, eyes widening. “They… They’re  _ gone. _ They’ve never been gone before…” he whispered. 

Wendy took a deep breath. She didn’t know how, but she knew they were alive, somehow. The whole guild was. They just had to figure out what had happened. “We’ll find them,” she repeated, making sure her voice was firm. If Natsu had a breakdown…. 

Thankfully, Gajeel began to stir, providing a much needed distraction. “The hell just happened?” 

Wendy and Natsu shook their heads. “Don’t know,” they said in unison. 

“It appears Edolas has finally attacked,” a voice behind them said. 

Wendy whipped around, relief coursing through her. “Charle!” 

“Natsu!” Happy bounded forward, still shaking dust and dirt out of his fur. “What’s going on? Charle says she knows but she won’t tell me!” 

Wendy turned to her, eyebrows knitting together. “Charle, how do you know?” The winged cat had been with her since she hatched from an egg (being found about the same time Happy’s had been). How could she possibly know something like this when no one else did? 

The cat hung her head, slowly approaching the little dragon slayer. “I-I think I’ve always known, ever since I can remember. I don’t know why. But that’s an anima.” She looked towards the sky. “And it leads to a place called Edolas.” 

“What the fuck’s Edolas, cat?” Gajeel huffed as he brushed dust and little bits of brick from his hair. 

“I think it’s another world,” she said. 

Natsu cocked his head. “Another world?” 

Charle nodded. “A place that exists in another dimension. And I believe they took Fairy Tail because of our magic, because they don’t have it like we do.” 

“Huh?” Natsu shook his head. “How do you just not have magic? It’s everywhere!” 

She sighed. “Not in Edolas, it isn’t.” 

Gajeel glanced between Wendy and Charle. “I still don’t understand how this fuckin’ cat knows this shit.” 

Charle hissed. “I’m not just a cat, you brute!” 

“Whatever,” he grunted. 

“B-But… Charle, how  _ do _ you know this?” Happy asked. 

“Edolas sent us here to find dragon slayers… I think… I don’t know… It’s muddled,” she said. “It’s why we appeared here, so close to Natsu and Wendy, and not anywhere else.” 

“But why?” Happy demanded, hopping out of Natsu’s arms. “And I don’t know anything about this! I don’t think I’m from this Edolas place.” 

“I don’t remember everything perfectly,” Charle said. “Your memory and instructions must have become even more corrupted than my own.” 

Natsu glared at the hole in the sky, which seemed to be  _ shrinking. _ “Sounds good enough to me. If these Edolas bastards took everyone, then let’s go kick their asses!” 

“Aren’t you going to ask if we’re loyal to them?” Charle muttered, bowing her head. 

Natsu stared at her for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. “You ain’t! It wouldn’t make any sense! And Happy doesn’t even know what you’re talkin’ about.” 

Wendy nodded. “He’s right, Charle. And even if you were loyal, we have to go anyways. We can’t let them just have our friends.” 

Gajeel finally forced himself to his feet with a hiss of pain. “If you two are gonna go, you better get on it before yer way there closes.” 

Natsu gave him a look. “You’re not coming?” 

Gajeel sighed. “I don’t like lettin’ you two go without me, but those cats ain’t getting me up there with you. Besides, someone’s gotta see if anyone else is still kickin’ around down here. If we got left behind, someone else might have too.” 

Natsu began to protest, but Wendy interrupted him. “That’s smart, Gajeel. I promise we’ll be careful, and we’ll be back before you know it.” 

He grunted. “Yeah, you better.” 

“All right, let’s quit wasting time,” Natsu said. “Let’s go!” 

Charle unfurled her wings and fluttered up to snag the back of Wendy’s dress between her claws and teeth. “Promise you’ll fight us if we turn on you?” she asked before she bit down. “Promise?” 

Wendy didn’t like it. Not at all. But if it would make her feel better... “Of course, Charle.” 

* * *

Edolas certainly wasn’t what Natsu had been expecting when Charle said it was an  _ alternate world.  _

Sure, it was different, filled with weird floating islands, but he’d expected everything to be completely upside down, or something like that. 

Honestly… he was a little disappointed. 

They’d been flying over the islands for a few moments when Happy let out a muffled squeak, and they dropped like stones. Natsu screamed, grabbing for Happy. “What the hell are you doing, man!?” he shrieked as the ground approached dangerously fast. 

“My magic stopped working!” he yowled as he sank his claws into Natsu’s chest and neck. 

They banged against tree branches, snapping them and leaving them to land on top of them when they finally hit the ground. “Oh…” Natsu groaned, not even wanting to roll over. “Son of a bitch…” He had to have broken something. His body  _ was not _ meant to feel like this. 

A few seconds later, Wendy crashed to the ground with a high-pitched shriek. 

“Natsu, are you okay!?” she demanded before getting up and dashing over. “Charle saw Happy fall before she lost her grip on her magic, so we didn’t fall far. Is anything broken?” 

He grunted. “Don’t… think so?” His body ached, sure, but now that he focused on it, it didn’t feel like anything had broken. Actually, his body felt  _ weird.  _

He forced himself up, pressing a hand to his head. “You feel… just kinda off, Wendy?” 

She frowned and shook her head. “There’s not a magic energy to grasp, which is annoying, but… No, I don’t feel sick, or wrong, or anything like that.” 

He pressed a hand to his chest. It took a moment, but he figured out what it was. “I’m… not changing anymore.” 

“What?” Wendy narrowed her eyes. 

“I was changing so much, I could feel it happening, and now it’s… just not,” he explained. “I’m not becoming a dragon anymore.” 

Her eyes widened. “ _ What?”  _

“Well, it makes sense,” Charle said, stalking over. “There’s no magic in the air, and thus, none in your body. There’s nothing  _ to _ change you. The same goes for you, Wendy.” 

She gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. “Really?” 

Natsu’s hands flew to his face, feeling for his scales, then moving onto his teeth, and his pointed ears. 

“It’s not going to undo anything that’s already happened,” Charle said, rolling her eyes. 

He hummed, still thrown off by his body being…  _ settled _ . He stumbled to his feet. “Well, now we gotta find everyone else.” He sniffed the air, relieved to find that his nose was just  _ like that,  _ and not a result of his dragon slayer magic. “It’s been a while since I’ve tried tracking someone like this.” 

“We can all help!” Happy said, bounding forward, sniffing at random trees and rocks. 

As he sniffed the air, he was overwhelmed by all the new, unfamiliar scents, but also underwhelmed by the lack of magic’s scent, a smell he’d become so accustomed to over the years. But underneath even all of that… was a cocktail of familiar scents, faint, and a little… _off,_ but he’d take what he could get. 

He pointed south. “Think they might be that way. It’s faint,  _ really _ faint, but I’m sure it’s them.” 

“All right then,” Wendy said, picking Charle up. “Let’s go.” 

* * *

Gajeel did his best to ignore the nausea that’d started after his siblings disappeared into the hole in the sky. It only intensified after the hole disappeared. 

He’d spent hours sifting through the wreckage of Magnolia, and had yet to find a single survivor. Everyone was just  _ gone.  _ There weren’t even bodies. 

(Which he guessed was a good sign, but also left an uneasy feeling in his gut. He didn’t like not knowing exactly what had happened to everyone. Even the civilians.) 

He collapsed against a wall that was still halfway standing, needing a break and some time to think. He began to drift off, but his eyes snapped open as he sensed someone approach. 

“Gajeel, right?” 

Gajeel forced himself back up and narrowed his eyes. He knew he was a member of Fairy Tail, he’d been at the guildhall not too long ago. Shit, what was his name? “Mystogan… ?” 

The man nodded. “Do you know what happened here?” 

He shrugged. “Some flying cat said everyone was sucked into an alternate dimension, put however much stock you want into that.” 

He couldn’t see much except for the man’s eyes, but Gajeel had no doubt he was frowning beneath the mask. “You were here to witness it?” 

He nodded. 

“And the other dragon slayers?” 

Gajeel frowned. “Their cats took ‘em through that hole in the sky. They wanted to go rescue everyone.” 

“And you?” he asked, far too calm for the situation, in Gajeel’s opinion. 

He shrugged. “Didn’t have a way to get there.” 

“And if you had one?” he asked. 

Gajeel grinned. “Well, Edolas would have one nasty bastard to deal with.” 

* * *

They wandered through Edolas for hours, following Natsu’s nose and praying that he was right about their direction. 

They avoided people they came across, at Charle’s urging, convinced that it would be bad news for anyone to learn they were there. 

Natsu didn’t really agree with that, asking around for help might help them find their guildmates faster, but he didn’t care enough to argue with the feline. When Charle made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. 

“Oh! I think I finally smell them too!” Wendy exclaimed, running forward. “They smell a little funny though, don’t you think?” 

Natsu hummed. He’d been thinking that himself for a while now, but wasn’t sure what to make of it. There was no doubt that he was on Fairy Tail’s trail, but his sister was right. Something was  _ off, _ just slightly different enough to be noticeable. 

Eventually, they arrived in a little clearing, coming face to face with Fairy Tail’s guildhall. 

“Oh that ain’t right,” Natsu said, balking. That wasn’t right  _ at all.  _

This wasn’t their guildhall. It was small, and rundown, and just felt  _ wrong _ (like a lot of Edolas, he was starting to realize). 

Wendy frowned at the building. “That’s a little odd. If they were really  _ taken _ to Edolas, wouldn’t someone have them as captives? They wouldn’t have just built a guildhall in the woods and camped out, right?” 

“Oh yeah, that’s a good point.” Natsu hadn’t even thought about that. 

Happy jumped up to sit on Natsu’s shoulders. “You really think everyone’s in there?” he asked. 

He sighed. “Sure smells and sounds like it.” 

“We might as well go in,” Charle said. “It doesn’t feel like a trap, and at this point, there’s not much else to do.” 

Natsu and Wendy exchanged a glance, then made their way to the door. 

The Fairy Tail members didn’t even notice them come in, just continued going about their business. 

“Is it just me,” Happy whispered in his ear. “Or does everyone kinda look funny?” 

Natsu had to agree, wanting to know why everyone was  _ dressed _ so weird. 

Lucy marched around the guildhall, shouting at and threatening anyone who got in her way. Cana, for starters, was wearing a shirt, which was weird enough, but then Natsu heard her say that she  _ didn’t drink _ , and that was when he began to worry if he’d hit his head harder than he thought he had when they crash landed earlier. Elfman sat timidly, letting anyone walk over him. Levy flaunted around in much more revealing clothing than she normally wore and cursed like a sailor, which had Natsu concerned, because Levy didn’t curse unless it was serious. 

But what  _ finally _ tipped him off that something was very, _ very _ wrong, and that this  _ wasn’t _ Fairy Tail, was Wendy. 

Not his little sister, who still stood at his side and stared at everyone with wide eyes. It was  _ another _ Wendy, except older and a lot louder, and more brash. 

“What the fuck?” he demanded. 

“Natsu!” Lucy stomped over, then punched him in the face. “What the hell were you thinking!? You can’t just go out like that!” 

He rubbed at his cheek, unable to bite back an instinctual snarl. 

Lucy’s eyes widened, and she stumbled back a step. “What…. What  _ happened _ to you? Why do you look like… like… some kind of  _ monster?” _ Then her attention snapped to Wendy. “Who the fuck is that!?  _ Wendy!?”  _ She looked back and forth between real Wendy and other Wendy. “And are those Exceeds?” She jabbed her finger at Happy and Charle. “What the hell is going on?” 

After all those questions, it didn’t take Natsu long to decide that this  _ wasn’t _ Lucy, and if this wasn’t Lucy, then that meant none of these people were actually his friends. His eyes narrowed. 

Wendy caught on to exactly what her brother was planning to do. “Natsu, wait—”

Natsu grabbed the collar of Lucy’s shirt and shoved her up against the wall, baring his teeth and snarling. “Who the fuck are you?” 

Lucy’s eyes widened, but she quickly schooled her expression into an angry one. “Natsu! What the hell are you doing!?” 

The entire guildhall went silent, attention snapping to them. 

“Holy shit,” Juvia said. “Is he actually fighting back against her?” 

“Don’t act like you know me,” he snarled. He even managed to breathe out a little puff of flame, having forgotten that his lungs had changed to create fire naturally, not just with magic anymore. He curled his fingers tighter. “I want to know what the hell is going on, and what happened to the _ real _ Fairy Tail.” 

Wendy began to tug at his arm, but he refused to let go of the blonde woman. “Natsu, please! This isn’t helping!” 

Lucy’s eyes roamed over his face. “You’re not Natsu.” 

He scoffed. “You’re not Lucy.” 

“ _ Natsu!”  _ Wendy shouted, voice shrill. “Let her go. You’re freaking everyone out, which isn’t going to help us  _ at all.”  _

He glanced behind him to notice the entire guild tense and standing, a few even reaching for weapons. With a frustrated growl, he let Lucy go and took a step back. 

She returned the growl. “Now, how about you tell me who you are?” 

He crossed his arms. “Natsu Dragneel.” He nodded towards Wendy. “And this is my sister, Wendy Marvel.” 

_ “Dragneel?” _ she repeated. “And Marvel?” 

He glared. “Yeah, what about it?” 

She scowled. “Nothing. Now, what the hell are you? I’ve never seen a magic item that can make someone look like that.” 

_Magic item?_ _What the hell is that? _He absentmindedly scratched at Happy’s ears. “I’m part dragon.” 

“I don’t want to believe you,” she said. “But your looks aren’t really giving me much of an option. And where are you from?” 

He was getting really tired of these questions. They were annoying as hell, and if this really was some elaborate set up by an enemy, then all he was doing was giving them information. 

“We’re from a city called Magnolia, in Fiore,” Wendy answered. “We’re looking for our friends.” 

“I’ve never heard of a Magnolia or a Fiore,” Lucy said. 

“You likely wouldn’t have,” Charle said, stalking forward and sitting at Wendy’s feet. “We’re from an alternate universe, which is likely why Natsu here was so confused.” She glared at him. 

“I knew they were exceeds!” someone shouted. 

Natsu glared back at Charle. “What, you tryin’ to tell me this is some stupid Lucy copy?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Obviously. I don’t know how you didn’t figure that out the moment you set foot in here.” 

He looked around the guildhall again, examining all the members. He supposed the cat had a point. 

“An alternate universe, eh?” Lucy asked. “Say I believe you, what do you want?” 

“Told you. We’re lookin’ for our friends. They got sucked up into the sky, and look like all you people,” Natsu answered. “Well… kind of.” 

“Right…” She frowned. “And do they all look like  _ you? _ With the freaky eyes and scales and claws?” 

Natsu glanced down at his fingernails, which admittedly,  _ did _ look a lot like claws now. Damn, he really needed to file them down, or cut them, or something like that. “Nah,” he finally answered. “I’m the only one like this.” 

Lucy took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t like ya. Maybe it’s ‘cause you look so damn familiar, but are nothing like the Natsu that I know.” 

“Yeah well, the feeling’s mutual,” he grumbled. 

She glared at him. “But I  _ guess _ I don’t have any reason not to trust you, and you’ve got our guild mark right there, so I’ll leave you alone. You can ask around here, get some food. But after that, we’re  _ not _ helping. This is all on you.” 

Natsu sighed. He guessed that was fair. Their problems had nothing to do with these people, and he hadn’t really made the greatest first impression. “Sure. Just give us a few minutes and then we’ll leave you alone.” 

She huffed, but held her arm out, a mocking gesture of welcome. 

He stepped further into the guildhall, wondering who he should try to talk to. Even if they didn’t have any information on the  _ real _ Fairy Tail, they probably needed to learn what they could about Edolas, especially if they couldn’t just use magic like they normally did. 

It was hard, seeing all the familiar faces, staring at him like they didn’t know him, like he was some kind of freak. 

He didn’t mind when people he didn’t know were scared of him, only saw the feral dragon, but these people were  _ supposed _ to be his friends, have his back no matter what. They knew being human was hard for him, but they didn’t care. 

These people did care. And even though he knew they weren’t the same, he  _ hated _ it. 

“Hey.” Wendy gently grabbed his hand. “They’re not them. Ignore it.” 

He huffed. “Yeah, I know.” 

Finally, he went and sat down at a table with Gray (he found it odd that Erza was nowhere to be seen, but he didn’t comment on it). 

Gray squeaked as soon as he sat down, nervously eyeing him. 

And if that didn’t make him uncomfortable, Natsu didn’t know what would. Maybe he should have talked to someone he didn’t know as well, but he couldn’t resist his best friend’s familiar face. 

Especially not after he’d watched him dissolve in his arms. 

Wendy climbed into a chair next to him, while Happy bounded off in search of food scraps, a disgruntled Charle following him at his urging.

“Can I help you?” Gray managed to ask. 

Natsu sighed. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard or seen any of you people’s doubles running around?” 

He shook his head. 

“Yeah, I figured.” He laid his head down on the table. This fucking sucked. “And I ain’t gonna bite, man.” 

“Good, those are some pretty freaky teeth you’ve got there,” he said. 

Wendy leaned forward and smiled at him, showcasing her own little fangs, and Natsu couldn’t help but smile a bit himself. He really didn’t deserve her as a sister sometimes. 

“What about magic?” she asked. “Can you tell us how it works here?” 

“Well—” he began. 

He was interrupted by someone setting two plates of food down at the table. “I-I thought you might like something to eat.” 

Natsu’s eyes widened as an  _ achingly  _ familiar scent washed over him, and he dared to turn his head for a better look. 

Lisanna Strauss smiled down at him. A genuine smile, though a bit confused and worried. “I hope you like spicy food, it was what big sis Mira and I had ready, right away.” 

Tears pricked at his eyes. This wasn’t  _ fair! _ This was just cruel! 

Next to him, Wendy gasped, her hands going to cover her mouth. 

“Lis…” Natsu whispered. He reached a hand out, wanting nothing more than to pull her close and never let go, to spend so much time with her that their scents almost mixed together like they used to, and protect her, keep her safe, like he had failed to do all those years ago. 

But before he could touch her, Wendy grabbed his hand and shook her head, ever so slightly. “Don’t…” she whispered. Then she forced her smile back. “And he loves spicy food, thank you!” 

Lisanna’s smile grew brighter. “Good! Let me know if you need anything else.” Then she went back to the bar. 

Wendy snuggled close to him. “It would just make you feel worse if you tried to talk to her,” she muttered. 

Natsu choked back a sob. 

“Uh… you good, man?” Gray asked, leaning across the table. 

“I’m fine,” he said, forcing the tears back. Wendy was right. Talking to her, touching her… It wasn’t going to help.  _ Thinking  _ about her wasn’t going to help. That  _ wasn’t _ Lisanna, and he would do himself no favors imagining that it was. “So,” he said, shoveling a spoonful of food into his mouth. “Magic.” 

“Okay, so, it’s limited, so—” he began. 

He was interrupted  _ again,  _ by someone screaming,  _ “KNIGHTWALKER!”  _

The guildhall erupted into chaos. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's gonna be a lot more Lisanna angst, I assure you. Also, I'm not quite sure how long this arc will take, but as of now, it will probably be the longest one yet.


	26. The Knightwalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza Knightwalker attacks. 
> 
> That's it. That's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than normal (I usually try to hit at least 3k but this one is a little under), but this felt like a good place to end it. Plus I was working on some character sheets for nano (it's my first dark fantasy/horror novel and I'm excited!!), and wrote a chapter for my bnha fic. 
> 
> Anyways, a little shorter than normal, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Wendy was thrown to the floor as people around her panicked. The Fairy Tail mages screamed and stomped around her. It was everything she could do to keep from being trampled. 

Arms wrapped around her waist and Natsu threw her over his shoulder. “What the hell is going on!?” he demanded. 

“Levy!” Lucy shouted over the chaos. 

“I’m fucking on it, you bitch! It takes a minute!” the script mage screamed. 

Wendy braced herself against Natsu’s back, and wildly glanced around, trying to discern what caused the chaos. 

Outside the guildhall, something roared, and the ground shook. 

_ “LEVY!”  _ Lucy roared. 

“It’s still fucking charging, goddammit!” she shouted back. 

“Oh god, we’re gonna die!” Cana screamed as she cowered beneath a table. 

Natsu and Wendy were thrown against a wall as the building shook. She winced as she was partially crushed by her brother’s weight. 

“You sure picked a helluva time to drop by,” Lucy grinned beside them. “If Levy doesn’t get her shit together you’re gonna get to see Knightwalker’s brutality first hand.” 

“I don’t want a single survivor!” a voice commanded outside. 

Wendy’s eyes widened. She’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Natsu!” she exclaimed, squirming in his grip. 

“Yeah,” he muttered. “I smelled her as soon as she showed up.” His eyes darkened and he shoved Wendy into Lucy’s arms. “I don’t know what your plan is regarding her, but I can smell the murderous intent coming from her.” 

Lucy huffed, but grabbed onto Wendy, holding her tight even as she tried to escape her grip. 

“I’ll handle her,” Natsu said, heading towards the door. 

“What the hell!?” Lucy demanded. “You got a fuckin’ death wish!?” 

“Natsu, no! That’s not her! And you don’t have magic right now!” Wendy said, still fighting to escape Lucy, who was  _ much _ stronger than the Lucy she knew. 

Her brother began popping his knuckles. “Come on, I’ve been fightin’ Erza for years. I’ve got this.” 

Every person in the guildhall not completely overtaken by panic yelled at him to stop, but he didn’t listen. No one could talk Natsu out of a fight once he decided he wanted one. 

“You better be back in this building in two minutes if you want to live,” Levy said, madly flipping switches and pressing buttons. “You hear me, fucking dumbass!?” 

Natsu waved her off. “Two minutes, gotcha.” 

“Natsu,  _ no!”  _ Lisanna screamed, bracing herself against the bar. “This isn’t a fight you can win!” 

And that… that got her brother to stop for a minute, and for a second, relief washed over Wendy. Maybe he wasn’t going to be this stupid. Maybe he was going to back down and let these people handle it. 

Then he turned to grin over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lis, I’ve got this.” Then he stepped out the door. 

Lucy hissed. “And I thought our Natsu was stupid.” 

* * *

Natsu knew this wasn’t his Erza. He wasn’t  _ that _ stupid. Never mind the fact that she was attacking the guildhall, her scent was just slightly different, like everyone’s Edolas counterparts. 

He waltzed out of the guildhall, hands behind his head, grinning like he didn’t have a care in the world. Truth be told, as worried as he was about Erza, he still kind of wanted to bash her face in over the Jellal situation. This would be very therapeutic. 

A small army had gathered outside Fairy Tail’s guildhall. An army of very official soldiers, if the uniforms and armor were anything to go by, which was… odd, to say the least. Did that mean that the government was after Fairy Tail for some reason? 

Leading the soldiers, was none other than Erza. Erza  _ Knightwalker, _ evidently. Her glare was cold, and calculated, much more vicious than his Erza’s. 

Natsu took a deep breath. He was  _ really _ tired of these bastards wearing his friends’ faces. 

“Are you so eager to die?” she asked as he approached. “Unable to wait until I tore apart your infernal rat’s nest?” 

He scoffed. “Ya know, Erz, villain really ain’t a good look on you.” 

Knightwalker’s eyes widened, before she snarled. “Do not act as if you know me, Fairy  _ scum.”  _

“Nah, you’re right, I don’t.” He let his hands fall, then shrugged. “I’m just lookin’ for a good fight, and you always put up the best.”

She smirked and settled into a fight stance, extending her sword towards him. “You’re sure one arrogant fool. Do you even have a weapon?” 

He shook his head. “Don’t need one.” He’d never fought with a weapon in his life. Several years ago, Erza tried teaching him and Gray how to sword fight, before finally giving up when they didn’t take it seriously. Natsu just didn’t see the point, not when his fire and his fists had always served him just fine. 

Knightwalker bared her teeth. “I’m going to enjoy this.” She attacked. 

Natsu avoided her first strike. It seemed that their Edolas counterparts shared more similarities than just looks. Knightwalker’s fighting style mimicked Erza’s almost perfectly, which was great for him, since he was an expert on how Erza fought. He’d been watching her for years. 

Before she could swing again, he gripped her wrist and flung her over his shoulder and into the guildhall. The wall cracked where she connected with it. 

He surged forward, kicking her sword away before she could pick it up again. As great of a fighter as Erza was, without her blades, she was at a serious disadvantage. And if magic here didn’t work the same as it did back home, Natsu doubted she could just summon another with requip magic. 

The soldiers made a move to attack, but Knightwalker shouted, “Stay back!” as she forced herself back to her feet. “I want to handle him myself.” 

Natsu cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. Damn, this chick was really nothing compared to Erza. He rushed forward to tackle her. It didn’t take much to force her to the ground. “This is  _ boring, _ ” he complained. 

Sharp pain tore through his gut, and Knightwalker smirked. She twisted her hand, and the little blade she’d shoved through his stomach tore at his insides. 

He coughed, and blood splattered against her face. 

_ Where…. Was she hiding… that knife?  _

He tightened his grip on her, making sure to sink his claws in deep. 

She winced and kicked against him, sending him flying backwards. The knife was still buried in his stomach, but he knew better than to remove it. He’d experienced far worse during battles and kept fighting. It’d surprised him, but he could handle a stab wound this small. 

He sprung forward again, bloody claws latching onto Knightwalker. He  _ wasn’t _ going to let her land a dirty hit like that without giving her a few wounds of her own. 

His claws tore through her shoulders, and he clamped his jaws onto her shoulder, some deep instinct telling him to rock his head, tearing at her like a famished animal. 

Knightwalker screamed, thrashing and kicking and clawing. Her hands brushed the knife, and she yanked it out. Blood poured from the wound. 

_ “Natsu!”  _ Someone grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him off Knightwalker and into the doorway of the guildhall. 

A chunk of her skin tore away with him. He spat it out on the guildhall floor. 

“Now, Levy!” Lucy screamed, and Natsu realized she was the one who had grabbed him.

The guildhall shuddered, then resettled a few seconds later. Every single person let out a collective gasp of relief. 

“Ya know, Lucy,” Levy said, hopping out of her chair. “We only got about two more shots of that, if we’re lucky.” 

“I know, I know,” the blonde mumbled, sitting up and turning her attention to Natsu. 

He groaned and pressed his hands to his stomach. It’d been a while since he’d actually been  _ stabbed.  _ He still couldn’t get over her stashing that little knife somewhere. Erza never would have pulled a trick that dirty. 

“Oh god,” Lucy muttered. “Someone get some bandages!” 

Wendy dashed over, falling to her knees next to him. “Natsu! Why would you do something so stupid?” 

“Heh.” He spit out more blood, unsure if it was his or Knightwalker’s. “I’ll be fine.” 

She flicked his forehead. “You’re so stupid!” 

The guildhall spun. His eyes began to slide shut. 

“Hey! No! No, no, no.” Lucy slapped at his cheek. “You can’t go tapping out after something like that, I want some  _ explanations!”  _

“Natsu!” Wendy exclaimed. 

Everything went dark. 

* * *

“All right, young lady.” Mirajane sat Wendy on the bar and handed her a small cup of water. “Your brother is going to be okay. He just got a little woozy from blood loss.” 

She nodded. She’d figured as much, it was just hard to rationalize when Natsu was passed out and covered in blood. 

“He fight like that a lot?” Lucy asked. 

Wendy gazed over the guildhall, not liking that all the attention was on her. She wished Natsu was awake to answer questions with her. Or at least Happy and Charle, but they were keeping an on him, at her own request. 

She shrugged. “Normally he has his magic, too. But yeah, he fights a lot. He likes it.” 

“He  _ likes _ it?” Gray demanded. 

Lucy hushed him. “His magic? What do you mean by that? Like a specific magic item?” 

She frowned, eyebrows knitting together. “No? What’s a magic item?” 

The guild began to mutter. “You know,” Juvia said. “Something that’s been imbued with magic, so if you own it, you can perform magic.” 

“You mean like a lacrima?” she asked. It  _ sounded _ like a lacrima, but she didn’t know of anyone using them like that. 

Lucy shook her head. “You’re telling me you can just  _ use _ magic, without the help of an item?” 

Wendy nodded. “Of course! You just pull the magic energy in, shape it, then direct it out again. We can’t do it here because there’s no energy, but yes! Back home, we can use it in a raw form, without lacrimas.” Lacrimas were only used by humans who couldn’t manipulate the energy but needed magic for something. 

“That’s insane!” Cana exclaimed. “No one can just  _ do _ magic!” 

“Well, they are from a different fucking world,” Levy said with a shrug. “Who says magic’s not completely different.” 

“All right, so you would have no idea how to use a magic item, would you?” Lucy asked. 

Wendy shook her head. 

She nodded and hummed. “Alright. Now, I want to know what you know about Knightwalker. Your…  _ brother _ acted like he knew her.” 

Edolas Wendy shuddered. “I do not like imagining being that jackass’s sister.” 

Wendy sighed, ignoring the comment, and how weird it made her feel. “We don’t. She just…. We know the version of her from  _ our _ world. Miss Erza… she’s one of Natsu’s best friends, and is kind of like an aunt to me.” 

“Knightwalker’s on your side in your world?” she asked. 

Wendy nodded. “Her name’s not Knightwalker, it’s Erza Scarlet. And she’s very kind, and strong, and brave. She’s one of Fairy Tail’s strongest wizards! She’s famous in Fiore!” Erza, for lack of a better word, had  _ fans.  _ It was odd to think about sometimes. 

“And in your world… what exactly  _ is _ Fairy Tail?” Lucy asked. 

She frowned, trying to decide exactly what the blonde woman meant. Somehow, she felt that  _ guild _ wasn’t the right word. Finally, she said, “We’re the most powerful guild in Fiore, home to the world’s most powerful wizards!” 

Conversation began to buzz once again. 

Lucy held her hand up, silencing them. “That explains why the anima took them.” 

Wendy nearly dropped her cup. “What?” 

She sighed. “Magic here is limited, and we’re running out. The king banned guilds because of it, and we’re the last one left.” 

“Oh…” Wendy glanced around. So  _ that _ was why the guildhall was so rundown, and everyone looked so tired and scared. They were on the run from the kingdom. 

“There’s been talk of a plan to get more magic, from somewhere else. I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but now I’m thinking, the plan might be to take it from you and your friends,” she explained. “And if that’s true, then that means your guild must be being held in the capital. So that’s where you need to be heading.” 

Wendy gasped. “Really!? Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! We can go find them now!” 

“Aaaahhhh, what are you,  _ five?”  _ Lucy asked, slamming her hand on the table and laughing. “You’re not gonna march up to the capital and kick their asses, crazy-ass brother or not!” 

Wendy deflated. “I’m… I’m actually twelve…” But she knew Lucy had a point. What were just her and Natsu going to do,  _ especially _ without their magic? 

“But lucky for you, I have a plan,” she announced, getting to her feet. “If they’re as powerful as they say they are, if we let ‘em loose in the capital, they’ll either just absolutely fuckin’ destroy it, especially if they’re all as crazy as Natsu, or at the least, cause enough chaos for us to get the hell out of dodge.” 

“I really don’t like where this is going…” Gray muttered. 

“I’m gonna lead them to the capital, and show ‘em the ropes around here,” Lucy said. “I don’t expect anyone to come with me, but if you want to, I won’t stop you.” 

“You really don’t have to do that!” Wendy protested. 

Lucy waved her off. “We’re gettin’ something out of it, might as well help a little. ‘Sides, even if Edolas gets magic back, it’s not like the king’s gonna just let us go. Knightwalker will keep hunting us for  _ fun.”  _

Wendy sighed. She  _ guessed _ that made sense, but she still felt weird about working with guildmates that weren’t  _ actually _ her guildmates. 

“So, does anyone want to go with me?” Lucy asked. 

She got a chorus of “No's” and “What the fucks.” After it quieted down, one person raised their hand. 

“I’d… I’d like to help, Lucy.” 

Wendy’s heart sank. Come on. Anyone but her.  _ Anyone _ . That would be beyond cruel to her brother. 

Lisanna raised her hand and smiled hopefully. “They seem nice, and I want to help them get back to their friends.” 

“Oh no,” Wendy protested, shaking her head and waving her hands. “You really don’t have to do that. We’ll be fine without you.” 

Lucy whacked her head. “Shut up. Great, Lisanna. Sounds good. We’ll leave tomorrow morning. That should give that idiot Natsu enough time to be up and at ‘em.” 

Lisanna smiled at her, and Wendy forced herself to smile back. 

“I’m excited to be working with you,” she said. 

“Yeah…” Wendy said. “Me too…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm making Lisanna a major player and nothing you can do will stop me. Her characterization was completely thrown away in the anime, and I'm tired of every fanfiction she's in being like "Lucy is jealous of Lisanna and Lisanna's terrible" so I'm rectifying the situation. 
> 
> Also, this is absolutely for angst, I love making Natsu miserable, it's what I do.


	27. To the Capital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, and Lisanna set out for the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The best holiday of the year! 
> 
> Also, this has just officially became the longest work I've ever written, so like... wow, it topped my high fantasy novel.

Gajeel had been in Edolas for about a day now, but he decided that he hated it after about a minute. 

He still had his magic, thanks to Mystogan’s weird  _ pill _ things, but the world was so  _ lack _ of it. It was unnatural. He was used to magic everywhere, lingering in the air and the scent making his nose tickle. He didn’t like not being without it. 

People were just as scared of him here as they were every else though, so at least that was a constant. 

He prowled through the cities of Edolas, searching for any sign of his siblings or the missing Fairy Tail mages. He had yet to find anything, but he was pretty sure that there were soldiers after him. Some spooked peasant probably contacted the kingdom, which he guessed was fair, considering he looked like something out of a nightmare these days. 

He just hoped the same thing hadn’t happened to Natsu and Wendy. 

* * *

Healing here took a little longer than back in Magnolia, which sucked, but he could deal with it. Edolas Wendy did her best with her magic items, but his stomach was still a little sore, and there was a scar. 

He didn’t mind scars, but most of the time Wendy and Porlyusica’s magic prevented them. 

“I’m gonna tell Erza you got stabbed,” Happy snickered. 

Natsu hissed. “You will  _ not.” _

“I’m gonna tell her you were too stupid to assume she had more than one weapon on her,” the cat continued. 

He sighed and forced himself out of bed. They needed to get moving, they’d wasted too much time here. Especially now that they had a good idea of where their friends were. Wendy had filled him in as soon as he’d woken up. 

He’d tried to leave immediately, but no one was having it, not even the Fairy Tail mages. 

He shuffled into the main part of the guildhall “We ready to go now?” he asked, poking Lucy’s shoulder. 

She glared at him, then at the hand he still had pressed against his aching stomach. “Yeah, we don’t really have any more time to wait on your dumbass to heal.” 

“I’ve dealt with worse,” he insisted. 

“Doesn’t mean you’re in peak condition,” she argued. Then she sighed. “But yes, we’re leaving in a few minutes. Wendy and Lisanna are packing up some food for us.” 

Natsu grimaced. Wendy gave him a heads up on Lisanna accompanying them, and he… he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. At first he’d been upset, because… well… she wasn’t  _ his _ Lisanna, and never mind the fact that she was probably much different (like all the Edolas counterparts), she didn’t know  _ him. _

But then he thought about it, and this was the only chance he’d ever have to be with her again, even if it wasn’t the same. Some part of him knew he would regret it, and made him feel guilty for trying to replace Lisanna with this copy, but a bigger part just wanted her  _ close _ again. 

Was it really too much to ask? 

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” Lucy asked, whacking him on the back of the head. 

He snarled. 

She frowned at the noise. “So… this whole  _ dragon _ thing,” she began as she flicked at his pointed ear, which twitched in response (and  _ boy, _ that felt weird). “How the fuck does something like that even work? Our Natsu is completely human.” 

He hummed and leaned against the bar. “I used to be human.” 

“Somehow that makes me even more confused,” she said. 

He shrugged, really not wanting to get into what was going on with him, especially with the copy of a guildmate he wasn’t even close with. “My magic was supposed to grant me the powers of a dragon, and it turned literal.” 

“That’s fucked up,” she said. “All magic that freaky where you’re from?” 

He shook his head. “Just mine. Well, and my siblings.” 

“Wait, so Wendy’s part dragon, too?” 

He grimaced. “Yeah…” 

She hummed. “And siblings?” 

He nodded. “Got an older brother, and two younger ones.” He really hope she didn’t ask too much about them, not wanting to get into Sting and Rogue being missing, or the circumstances behind them becoming siblings. 

But she just chuckled. “Our Natsu has only got an older brother. Shit, what’s his name… I’m pretty sure it starts with a Z…” She frowned, then snapped her fingers. “Zeref! That’s what it is.” 

Natsu stiffened.  _ “Zeref?”  _ he demanded. Like that black wizard Jellal had been trying to bring back to life? The one he supposedly dreamed about? 

She nodded, not noticing how spooked he was. “Yeah, they don’t get along. Actually, I’m pretty sure they hate each other. Natsu hardly ever talks about him.” 

He clutched at the bar’s counter so tightly his fingers ached. Why did that name keep cropping up? Why did he seem to have some sort of  _ connection _ with it? 

What did  _ he _ have to do with the Black Wizard Zeref? He didn’t understand. 

“That’s… unfortunate…” he finally forced out. 

Thankfully, Wendy and Lisanna approached them. “We’re ready to head out!” Wendy said. 

Natsu let out a breath, wanting nothing more than to never talk about Zeref again, or the strange fire that had begun to blaze in his chest when he heard the name. 

* * *

Wendy was worried about her brother. 

She was always worried about her brother. It was hard not to be when her brother was  _ Natsu Dragneel, _ king of reckless and impulsive decisions. He was injured more often than not, always charging into fights that he had no business being a part of. 

But this was a different type of worry, something she wasn’t used to worrying about with Natsu. 

His  _ feelings.  _

Natsu surrounded himself with close friends, not really interested in any other type of relationship. Sometimes, Wendy worried about him in that regard, and she knew Erza did too. 

Because he couldn’t seem to move on from Lisanna. 

Every time a girl, or even a boy, showed interest in him, he rarely noticed. And if he did (usually because someone else pointed it out), it almost seemed to freak him out. He backpedaled out of the situation as fast as he possibly could. 

Wendy was pretty sure that by his age he was supposed to be at least  _ mildly _ interested in those types of things. 

The only explanation she could come up with was him being hung up on Lisanna, still loyal to her, even three years after her death. 

She knew better than most how hard her loss hit him, having lived with him, and witnessed the depression he’d fallen into. She watched him move through the motions, smile, laugh, go on jobs, fight with Gray, but when he came home at night, she saw the life drain out of him. He was expressionless, emotionless, and that was the most terrifying part. He wasn’t even angry or sad, there was just  _ nothing.  _

It’d been that way for months, before he finally started to act normally again. It was only in the last year that he finally seemed to snap out of it for good. 

But with things like dating… Lisanna still held her brother in an iron grip. 

She was worried, no,  _ terrified, _ that this Lisanna of Edolas was going to undo every bit of progress her brother had made. 

He tailed behind their group, trudging along, being sure to avoid interacting with Lisanna in any way. And that horrifying blank look was in his eyes. 

She didn’t know what to do. 

* * *

Lisanna hadn’t believed it when Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Charle walked into the guildhall. 

She knew immediately it wasn’t Edolas Natsu, though she could admit, it took her a moment to recognize him as  _ her _ Natsu. 

She didn’t know what had happened to him, why he looked like he did, or what had happened to make him this vicious. She didn’t think the Natsu she knew would have slammed Lucy against a wall like that, or tore into Knightwalker like a rabid dog. But then he smiled, then he doted on Wendy, scratched Happy’s ears and assured him everything was okay, looked at her like _ that _ the first time he saw her. 

This was  _ her Natsu.  _

She didn’t understand how he got here, but she couldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers. 

She’d tried to get to know the Natsu of this world, but it wasn’t the same, and she soon gave up on forming a close bond with him. It just wasn’t the same. 

(None of it was the same in Edolas, but Natsu was the worst one). 

Even if she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth, she still wanted to speak to him, even if it was just one more time. 

So she didn’t care if going with Lucy was a bad idea, she was going to do it. 

That night, as they settled into the inn room they’d paid for, she decided she  _ was _ going to talk to him, properly, this time. 

While Lucy was in the shower, and Wendy, Happy, and Charle went out to buy food (not wanting to eat the food they packed when they had to chance to get  _ actual good _ food), she hesitantly approached the dragon slayer, sitting on the opposite side of the couch as him. 

He glanced at her, stiffening slightly, but didn’t try to move away. 

She took that as a good sign. 

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand to shake, desperate for any touch she could get. “I’m Lisanna, since we were never properly introduced.” 

He eyed her hand, but eventually took it, being very careful of the claws that now adorned his fingers. “Natsu.” 

She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.” Then she looked away. She just had to know. “If you don’t mind me asking… why do you look… like  _ that?”  _

He sighed and looked away, almost like he was ashamed. “My magic’s turnin’ me into a dragon.” 

“O-Oh…” She fought to keep her expression neutral, unconcerned. He was  _ turning into _ a dragon? What did that even  _ mean?  _ He truly wasn’t human anymore? “Is that supposed to happen?” 

He shrugged. “Happens to all dragon slayers, so I guess so.” 

“And there’s no way to stop it?” 

He shook his head. “Not for me, no.” His eyes narrowed. “Why do you care so much?” 

Lisanna sighed. “You remind me of someone, that’s all.” 

“Yeah, your Natsu,” he said bitterly. 

She almost smirked. Was he  _ jealous?  _ “No…” She shook her head. “Not him.” 

Natsu grunted, opting not to reply. 

She looked away from him to stare at the wall. She’d had these three years to think about what her and Natsu were, and even now, she still didn’t know. Were they friends, or something else? Did  _ he  _ know? Had he moved on? Found someone else? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise her if he eventually ended up with Erza or Gray. She nearly asked before she thought about it, just barely stopping herself. 

“So the capital here, I assume they got lots of power to have completely abolished guilds,” he said. 

Lisanna bit back a disappointed noise. Of course he would want to discuss the enemy. That was all he was here for, to fight, save his friends, and go home.

She nodded. “Yes, they hoard as much magic as they can.” 

He clenched and unclenched his fists. “I need to figure out someway to get my magic back. This magic item bullshit ain’t gonna cut it.” 

She laughed. “I guess it might be irritating if you’re not used to it.” And it  _ was. _ It was irritating as hell. She  _ hated _ not being able to transform. 

Lucy walked out of the bathroom, wrapping in nothing but a towel. “Well I’m sorry we don’t just have fucking magic fucking everywhere.” 

Natsu huffed. 

Lisanna got up to take a shower herself, leaving the two people who actually knew a lot about fighting to discuss plans. 

* * *

“It’s a good thing that freaky Erza only saw Natsu,” Happy said as he trotted at Wendy’s heels. “I bet he’s already some kind of criminal.” 

Wendy clutched the bags of food they bought closer to her chest. She hadn’t even thought about that. Maybe Natsu should try and disguise himself somehow… 

A commotion up ahead had her picking up the pace. Were those soldiers? 

Charle noticed them as well. “Happy, let’s get back to the hotel quickly and warn the others. Someone might have recognized Lucy and Lisanna as Fairy Tail mages and told the soldiers. Wendy, hurry back yourself. Try not to let them get a good look at you, just in case.” 

She nodded. “I’ll catch up.” 

The two cats bounded off, zipping through the crowd much faster than Wendy could. 

“Eeeehhh, the fuck are you talkin’ about, I ain’t no damn Fairy Tail bastard!” someone shouted. 

Wendy froze, before dropping the food and sprinting through the crowd towards the soldiers. She  _ knew _ that voice. 

But was it his copy, or had he somehow gotten to Edolas? 

“Gajeel!” she called. 

“I see the emblem on your shoulder, right there!” one of the soldiers argued. 

She reached the front of the crowd, and sure enough, there stood Gajeel, and unless this world’s Gajeel was  _ uncannily _ similar to theirs, that was her brother. 

He stood with his arms crossed, signature scowl on his face. “Look, I’m not lookin’ for trouble, and I guarantee you’ll regret it if you go picking a fight with me.” 

“Gajeel!” she called again, forcing her way through the group of soldiers to grasp at his legs. 

His eyes widened, but he didn’t react more than that. “See,” he said. “I’m just out with my kid sister.” 

“She’s got the guildmark, too!” a soldier said, pointing to her shoulder. 

Gajeel sighed. “There’s no way I’m gonna talk myself out of this, is there?” He gave Wendy a look, then nudged her behind him. 

_ Oh no… _ “Gajeel, wait!” There was no way he could take on all these soldiers without his magic. 

Before she could protest anymore, his arm turned to iron, and he tore through the soldiers within seconds. The crowd screamed and scattered. 

As soon as all the soldiers were down, Gajeel grabbed her. “Come on, brat, we gotta get the hell outa here. Where’s Natsu?” 

She pointed in the direction of the hotel. “That way.” 

* * *

“There’s  _ soldiers _ here?” Lucy demanded, hurriedly putting her clothes back on. 

Charle nodded. “I don’t know for sure if they’re after you, but it seemed a rather large group of them for a town this size.” 

Natsu perked up. A fight would be the perfect distraction from that conversation he’d had with Lisanna. 

The cat must have recognized the look on his face.  _ “Far _ too many for you to fight without magic, Natsu, don’t even try it.” 

He whined. 

Lucy banged on the bathroom door. “Come on, Lisanna, we’ve got to get out of here! There’s soldiers!” 

“Oh no!” Within a few seconds the bathroom door swung open, Lisanna still dripping wet. 

Natsu jerked his gaze away, staring at the ceiling. Sure, she was wrapped in a towel, but  _ still.  _

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Lucy said, bagging up the last of their things. 

“But Wendy!” Natsu and Charle protested together. 

“Well where the hell is she?” Lucy demanded. 

Natsu was about to snap that he didn’t know when the door banged open. “We have to go, right fucking  _ now!”  _

“Wha— _ Gajeel? _ ” Natsu demanded. “How the hell did you get here!?” 

He tossed Wendy to Natsu. She squealed as she flew the air, and he just barely caught her. 

“That bastard Mystogan, I’ll explain later, but there’s soldiers on our asses and I’m the only one with the magic to fight them,” he said as he motioned for them to hurry up. “So ditch your hookups and let’s fucking  _ go!”  _

_ “Hookups!?”  _ Natsu demanded, setting Wendy on the floor. 

“Who the fuck is this!?” Lucy demanded. 

“My brother, Gajeel,” Natsu said. 

Gajeel snarled. “We can do introductions later, we gotta beat it!” 

“All right, all right, I’m coming.” He nudged Happy towards the door, and before he thought too much about it, grabbed Lisanna’s hand, tugging her after him. 

Wendy and Charle followed on his heels, and though Lucy hesitated for a moment, she grabbed their bags and followed as well. 

As soon as they left the hotel, Natsu realized just how many soldiers were crawling through the small town. 

“There they are!” one shouted, and at least thirty of them turned in their direction. 

“Shit,” Lucy snarled. 

Natsu tightened his hold on Lisanna’s hand and  _ sprinted _ . Charle was right. He had no chance of beating that many soldiers without his magic. Maybe Gajeel could, but he didn’t want to risk stopping to fight and then getting cornered or surrounded. 

“If we get out of the city, there’s someone who can help us get out of here,” Lucy said. 

“You finally got into contact with him?” Lisanna gasped. “Where the hell has he been?” 

“Who?” Wendy asked. 

Lucy smirked. “Why, none other than Natsu.” 

_ “Huh?” _ he demanded. He was right here! And sure as hell didn’t have a plan! 

“Your counterpart, dumbass!” Lucy snarled. 

“Oh.” They rounded a corner, coming face to face with another ten or so soldiers. Gajeel powered through them like it was nothing. 

Thankfully, the town was small enough that it didn’t take them long to get out, once again in Edolas’s sandy landscape. 

“So… your plan?” Gajeel panted. “Or are you expecting me to fight the soldiers that are probably gonna show up any second and then sprint through the fucking desert?” 

Lucy jabbed her thumb towards Gajeel. “You’re related to this?” 

Natsu shrugged, finally letting go of Lisanna’s hand. 

Before Gajeel could snap a reply, some kind of vehicle tore over the sand dunes, stopping right in front of them. One of the contraption's doors flew open. “Hey, Luce, how’ve you been?” 

Natsu stumbled backwards a step, not liking that  _ at all.  _

That was him, in whatever moving thing that was!  _ He _ was sitting in front of him,  _ grinning, _ and it matched his  _ exactly.  _

“Took you long enough!” Lucy shouted, stomping her foot. “And don’t think this gets you off the hook, I still want to know what the hell you’ve been doing!” She climbed into the vehicle, holding her hand out to help Lisanna up next. 

“Yeah, yeah,”  _ other _ Natsu said. “I know. Let’s just get the hell out of here. I’d rather not have my head on a pike.” Then he turned his grin to the dragon slayers. “Natsu Dragion, at your service.” 

Gajeel snickered. “That is fucking hilarious.” He glanced between both Natsus. “As if there needed to be two yous.” 

“Now you know how I felt,” Wendy grumbled. 

“There they are!” the soldiers shouted. 

“Get in the car!” Lucy shouted, motioning for them to hurry up. 

“Oh no.” Natsu took a wary step backwards, shaking his head. “You’re not getting me in that thing.” 

_ “What?” _ Lucy demanded. “You wanna deal with  _ that!?” _

He glanced over his shoulder to see pretty much every soldier in the town racing towards him. “Honestly, that looks better.” 

Charle huffed as she hopped into the car. “You are being ridiculous, Wendy, come on.” 

Wendy groaned, but climbed into the car. Gajeel and Happy followed. “Natsu, come  _ on!” _ Gajeel snapped. 

“But—” 

_ “Natsu!”  _ Lisanna shrieked. “Motion sickness is better than death!” 

He huffed, but got into the car, immediately making sure the window was rolled down. 

“Now go!” Lucy shouted. 

Dragion punched the gas, and as soon as they started moving, Natsu collapsed, clutching at his stomach. Wendy and Gajeel weren’t far behind. 

“What the hell is wrong with them?” Lucy demanded. 

Gajeel scrambled for the open window, just barely managing to lean outside before he lost the contents of his stomach. 

Charle sighed. “Motion sickness. Dragon slayers suffer from it.” 

Lucy gave Gajeel a disgusted look as he pushed away from the window and wiped the vomit from his chin with the back of his hand. 

Natsu just curled up, clutching at his stomach. He didn’t even notice that Lisanna had known about his motion sickness. 

* * *

Wendy had no idea how long they were in the car, but it was  _ enough.  _ As soon as Dragion stopped, she and her brothers crawled out, content to lie on the ground as the last of the symptoms subsided. 

“I would have preferred the soldiers,” Natsu grumbled, face down in the sand. 

“Agreed,” Gajeel groaned. 

“Where are we?” Wendy asked, the first to recover. 

Lucy held her hand above her eyes, scanning the horizon. “Oh, about a day’s walk from the capital, I’d say.” 

“Really?” she gasped. That car had gotten them across the desert that fast? 

She nodded. “Yep.” 

Lisanna and Dragion clambered out of the vehicle next, both of them eyeing the dragon slayers warily. 

“Since we got busted at the hotel, guess we’re sleeping out here tonight,” Lucy said, sitting down with a huff. “Who’s building the fire?” 

Natsu forced himself up. “I can do it.” Then he frowned. “Ah, shit… never mind.” 

Wendy almost laughed. 

“Wait, that reminds me.” Gajeel rustled through his pockets. “Mystogan set me up with these magic pill things that let us use our magic. It’s why I still got mine.” He pulled out a small glass bottle. “Here.” 

Natsu perked up immediately. “Oh! Gimme!” He held his hand out expectantly. 

“Wait!” Wendy said, throwing her hands out. “Natsu, what if makes you start changing again?” 

“Huh?” he asked. 

She sighed, taking the bottle from Gajeel, who was looking at her with an equally as puzzled expression. “You said you’re not changing into a dragon anymore because there’s no magic here. This will probably make it start again.” 

Her brother frowned, eyebrows knitting together. “Yeah, so?” 

She almost threw the bottle at him in frustration. “This world could delay your change! I think you should let it.” 

“What the hell is going on?” Dragion asked quietly. 

Lucy shrugged and made an  _ I don’t know _ noise. Lisanna just watched the exchange, expressionless. 

“But I can’t help if I don’t got magic! Besides, it’s just a few days anyways, I don’t think it’ll matter that much,” Natsu argued. 

“Wendy, he’s right,” Gajeel said. “If he doesn’t have magic, he’s a lot more likely to get killed, and I don’t know about you, but I think bein' a dragon is better than bein’ dead.” 

She clutched the bottle, still not wanting to hand it over, but she guessed that her brothers had a point. “Fine,” she said, opening the bottle and taking a pill for herself before handing it over to Natsu. 

The pill was a little bitter, but within seconds of swallowing it, she felt magic course through her body again. She let out a contented sigh. 

“You better remember to thank Mystogan the next time you see him,” Charle said. 

“God knows when that’ll be,” Natsu grumbled before he swallowed his own pill. 

Fire blazed at his fingertips a few seconds later. “Aw hell yeah!” He breathed out a spurt flame, seemingly just because he could. 

Dragion leaned backwards. “You’re fuckin’ weird, man.” 

Natsu shrugged. “Yeah, but I can make a nice fire.” 

“We can cook fish!” Happy exclaimed. 

Lucy glared at him. “You see any fish here, ya stupid cat?” 

Wendy leaned against Gajeel as Natsu scrounged up what little firewood he could. She hated knowing that his body was changing again. 

“He knows what he’s doing, Wendy,” Gajeel muttered. 

She sniffled, fighting back tears. He only called her  _ Wendy _ when he was serious, almost always just sticking with  _ brat.  _

“You gotta quit worrying about him,” he continued. 

“You know his back’s been bothering him?” she asked, pressing closer. “He won’t admit it, but it is. Gajeel, he’s gonna grow  _ wings.” _ Her voice cracked on the word. 

“I know,” he said. 

On the other side of the little fire Natsu built, Lucy and Dragion argued about something while Lisanna prepared food for them. She couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Why did  _ this _ Natsu get to be human? 

“Hey, he’ll be fine,” Gajeel insisted. 

Wendy didn’t think so, but she didn’t argue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nano officially starts tomorrow! I'll try and keep up with updates, but I can't promise anything. Sorry in advance if this kinda gets set on the back burner, but I'll try not to do that. I've been averaging about 7K words a day recently, so hopefully I'll be fine, but nano can be difficult so who knows 
> 
> Also, as this is like.... 100K words now, I've decided I'm definitely going to break it up into a series (I was kinda always planning on doing that anyways, but it's for sure now). I plan to end this first bit of the rewrite after the Tenrou Island arc. I can't say how many chapters away that will be, but just letting you know this will become a series eventually. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	28. Captured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Edolas mages go back home, Knightwalker attacks again, and Mystogan makes a move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another fun chapter to write, I hope you enjoy it!

_ “Natsu, your body can’t go through this many more times before it tears itself apart,” Zeref said. “Do you understand?”  _

_ Natsu stared at him. No, he didn’t understand. He knew his brother had put him in the pod again, but he didn’t know why, couldn’t remember. Everything was blank and fuzzy again.  _

_ But it seemed Zeref hadn’t expected him to know. He sighed, and held up a book, with the letters E.N.D. on the cover. “You cannot touch this, okay?”  _

_ Natsu’s eyes narrowed. That book… something about it… He  _ wanted _ to touch it. But he knew he was supposed to listen to Zeref, he didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t. So he nodded.  _

_ He couldn’t touch the book.  _ His _ book.  _

_ Zeref nodded and smiled. “Good. Now, let’s start teaching you to read.”  _

* * *

Gajeel sighed and nudged at Natsu’s shoulder. The bastard was having another nightmare, twitching and growling in his sleep. 

It took a few tries, but eventually he jerked into a sitting position, panting and clawing at his chest. 

“Figured I’d better wake you up,” Gajeel muttered. “Don’t want you wakin’ everyone else up, and that dream didn’t look like it was very pleasant.” 

Natsu sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Thanks.” 

He grunted. Natsu was a damned disaster. Even more so than everyone else in Fairy Tail, and that was really saying something. Gajeel still wasn’t quite sure what the fuck had happened to the happy little kid he’d been raised with, but something seemed to have gone wrong with him. “Wanna talk about it?” he offered. 

Natsu sighed. “Nothing to talk about. Don’t remember it. I never do.” 

Gajeel knew that. Both Natsu and Wendy had told him. He still thought it was weird though, especially considering how often the nightmares occurred. 

“You can sleep,” Natsu said. “I’ll keep watch.” 

Gajeel wasn’t about to argue with that. 

* * *

Mystogan knew that eventually he would find himself in Edolas again, but that didn’t mean he was ready for it. 

His homeworld… He had very mixed feelings about it. 

He slunk through the capital, sticking to the shadows. He didn’t know exactly when the king was planning on turning the Fairy Tail mages into magic energy, and he didn’t feel comfortable waiting for the dragon slayers. He hoped they turned up soon, knowing he stood much better chances of succeeding if they were with him. 

But he couldn’t just wait, so he set his plan into motion. 

* * *

Lisanna awoke to see Natsu staring out across the desert. He didn’t look like he had slept much at all, and she realized she’d never been woken up for her turn to watch, which meant that Lucy, and Dragion hadn’t taken a watch either. 

Had he slept at all? 

She frowned, sitting up slowly, not wanting to alert him into knowing she was up.

Something was different about Natsu, and it wasn’t just the scales and the claws. He never would have sat this still or quiet, even if everyone was asleep. 

She’d noticed it a few times now. The slight melancholy that he displayed, though he was good at hiding it. She wondered what caused it. 

He shifted, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them, still just staring at the sunrise. 

She got up, moving to sit next to him. He stiffened when she laid her hand on his shoulder. “Did you sleep at all?” she asked. 

He shrugged. “A bit.” 

That wasn’t reassuring. “You might be able to catch another hour or so, while everyone else wakes up and packs up.” 

He shook his head. “I’m fine.” 

“But—” 

Finally, he turned to look at her. “Look, Lisanna, not to be a bastard, but I’d prefer it if you left me alone. I tried and just…” He turned away again, settling his head back on his knees. “You’re dead in my world, okay? And I can’t… I can’t do this. I’ve got enough to deal with.” 

Lisanna’s breath hitched. She knew that.  _ Of course _ she knew that. What other assumption were they going to make? It still hurt to hear though. They all thought she was dead. She was sitting  _ right next _ to Natsu, and he still thought she was  _ dead.  _ “I-I’m sorry,” she finally said. 

“Not your fault,” he muttered. “But you get it, don’t you? Why you might… Why I don’t want to talk to you…” 

But it  _ was _ her fault. “Yes… I understand.” She got back up and moved away from him. 

Honestly, what had she expected? Him to welcome her with loving arms when he thought she was just a copy of the person he’d known? 

* * *

“The capital’s a day’s walk in that direction.” Lucy pointed north. 

Gajeel narrowed his eyes. “You say that like you’re not comin’ with us,” he said. 

Wendy glanced at the blonde. She wasn’t going to go with them? Why not? 

Lucy shook her head. “You’re right, I’m not. I came with you to help you understand magic items and how to use them, but you’ve got your own magic now, so there’s no point in me tagging along now. That, and I gotta kick Natsu’s ass for running off like he did.” 

Dragion grinned. “Sure, Luce, whatever you say.” 

Wendy wasn’t sure how she felt about Natsu’s Edolas counterpart. He was odd, but so was her Natsu. She suspected most of the discomfort came from him being so similar to her brother. 

“Guess that’s fair,” Gajeel said. “Thanks fer gettin’ my siblings this far. Don’t know if I would have found them otherwise.” 

She grinned, a feral smile that looked right at home on a Fairy Tail wizard's face. “Yeah, my pleasure. Kick the king’s ass for me. Who knows, we might even come lend you backup.” She turned with a wave, hopping up into Dragion’s car. “Come on, Lisanna, time to head out.” 

Lisanna gave Natsu one last, sad glance. 

Wendy frowned. Unlike everyone else, she hadn’t missed Lisanna knowing about their motion sickness before they told the Edolas mages. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, not wanting to believe what her mind told her that must mean, but… she was having trouble explaining things about Lisanna. 

The way she’d known that Natsu liked spicy food, offering to come with them, the looks she gave him when she thought no one was watching. 

Again, Wendy had no idea what to do with this knowledge, not wanting to confront Lisanna about it, and  _ definitely _ not wanting to bring it up to Natsu, for a number of reasons.

She decided to deal with it later, after they rescued everyone from the capital. 

“Alright,” Gajeel said after they were gone. “Let’s go. Mystogan’s probably crawling around the capital as well.” 

“Mystogan?” Wendy asked, broken out of her thoughts. 

Gajeel nodded as they started across the desert. “Seems he’s from here, like you damn cats.” 

“Wait,” Happy said, bounding along at their heels. “Mystogan’s from here too?” 

Charle chirped in confusion. 

He shrugged. “I got no damn clue. He just said he was from Edolas, zapped me here, and told me he had a plan.” 

Wendy frowned. Was that why Mystogan had always been so distant from everyone? He was cut off from his home? But that didn’t make sense, because if he was here, and he brought Gajeel here as well, surely that meant he had to power to come back if he wanted to. So… he was in their world… because he wanted to be? 

_ Why?  _

* * *

The walk across the desert actually wasn’t so bad, more boring than anything else. Well, that and there was sand between Wendy’s toes, which she didn’t like. She was pretty sure it was all in her hair, too. 

At least they could see the city now. It was massive, at least as big as the capital of Fiore, but that was to be expected. It  _ was _ the capital, after all. 

She shivered as a sudden chill racked her body, a shadow blotting out the sun. 

Natsu and Gajeel stiffened on either side of her. 

“She’s back,” Natsu snarled, spinning on his heel. 

Wendy whipped around, eyes widening as she stared at the sky. A huge flying creature covered the sun’s rays, with Erza Knightwalker astride the beast. 

Hundreds of the creatures flocked behind her, each ridden by at least ten soldiers. 

“She came at us downwind…” Gajeel said. “She knew about our senses?” 

Natsu shook his head, hair flying. “I… I don’t think… How could she?” 

Happy let out a distressed yowl and frantically climbed up Natsu’s body, fur fluffed up in terror. 

Wendy held her shaking hands to her mouth. “We can’t fight that many, even with our magic.” 

Knightwalker’s creature thudded to the ground, sand flying up around it. She leaped off the creature with nimble grace, stalking towards them. 

Her smirk was deadly, but of course she was confident with an army that size at her back. Her armor clanked as she approached, but she had nothing covering her right shoulder, displaying an ugly scar, that almost looked like… a  _ bite mark.  _

Hadn’t Natsu bit her? 

“Well, well, well,” she said as she approached. “Not so willing to fight without an escape route, are you?” 

Natsu bared his teeth. 

Knightwalker clicked her tongue, turning her attention to Wendy and Gajeel. Wendy had to fight not to cower beneath her gaze. Though Erza was powerful, Wendy had never been scared of her. But Knightwalker…. 

Knightwalker’s eyes were cold, filled with a bloodlust she’d never seen from Erza, not even during her most brutal fights. 

“You’re awfully small for a dragon slayer,” she said. 

Growls rumbled from Gajeel’s chest, and she grabbed his hand, hoping it was enough to break him out of attack mode. They wouldn’t win a fight like this, so they needed to talk. They were far more likely to get out of this alive if no punches were thrown. 

“What do you want?” Charle asked, stepping forward. 

For the briefest second, Knightwalker’s eyes widened, but her vicious expression was soon back. “Exceeds. And I assume the little blue one is as well.” 

“The fuck’s an Exceed?” Gajeel spit. 

Knightwalker leaned down and grabbed Charle by the scruff of her neck. “Am I to assume you are traitors as well, if you travel with the dragon slayers?” 

Charle hissed, trying to swipe her claws down Knightwalker’s face. She dropped her with a scoff. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She turned as the soldiers began to land. “I want them taken back to the capital, and if they resist…” She turned her terrifying smile back to Wendy. “Kill the little one.” 

Natsu growled and tried to leap forward, but Gajeel grabbed the back of his vest. “Don’t you  _ fucking dare. _ We won’t win.” 

Natsu’s eyes widened, and he didn’t struggle. 

Wendy backed into Gajeel’s legs as Knightwalker approached, fear hammering away in her chest. She didn’t want to go with them! What were they going to do with her!? 

The soldiers pulled Gajeel away first, slapping magic dampening cuffs of his wrist, then chaining him up, topping it off with a muzzle. Too, too similar to the ones from the Tower of Heaven. 

Unlike Gajeel, Natsu jerked when they grabbed for him, unable to keep the growls and snarls from escaping.

Wendy tried to run towards him, but one of the soldiers grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. Charle and Happy were grabbed and tossed into little cages as well. 

Knightwalker approached Natsu as the other soldiers cuffed and chained him. “I have to admit, you impressed me.” She gestured to the scar on her shoulder. “It’s fucking ugly.” 

His snarl deepened, and Wendy didn’t see a single bit of human in her brother’s expression. 

Gajeel tried to yell something through the muzzle, but he was hit on the head with the hilt of a sword, going limp. 

Wendy screamed. 

“But I like scars,” Knightwalker continued. “It’s been a while since someone gave me a good one.” 

With four soldiers holding him back, Knightwalker ran her hand along Natsu’s jaw, jerking it backwards when he snapped at her. “I can’t wait to play with you some more.” She gave a curt nod, and a muzzle was fastened over his head as well. 

Knightwalker laughed and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking his head up to look her in the eyes as he tried to jerk away. “We’ll have fun, dragon slayer.” 

Wendy screamed as she was carried away from her brothers, kicking and fighting against the soldier that held her. 

Of course it did nothing. She was cuffed and bound just like her brothers, tossed to the ground next to Gajeel’s limp form.

“Take them back to the capital!” Knightwalker shouted. 

* * *

Natsu had never admitted to anyone how much the muzzle at the Tower of Heaven had freaked him out, but it had. Being unable to talk, or breathe fire… It was  _ terrifying.  _

And now, he’d been muzzled  _ again.  _ Like a damn dog. 

He was separated from Wendy and Gajeel. He didn’t think he’d ever get the sounds of Wendy’s panicked screaming out of his head as they drug her away and chained her up. 

Even Happy and Charle had been taken away. 

He laid on the back of Knightwalker’s creature, fighting against his bonds, even though he knew it was useless. 

Occasionally, Knightwalker would look back at him and smile. It made his skin crawl. 

He felt so  _ helpless.  _ Alone, no magic, not even the ability to move or speak. 

He wished they’d fought, even if it was hopeless, because now what? There was no one coming to save them. They had  _ no one.  _

* * *

Gajeel awoke in a dark cell. 

And boy, it’d been a while since that had happened. He rolled over, chains rattling as he shifted. 

Damn, they were fucked. 

Had it just been him and Natsu out there, sure, he would have fought, gone down swinging. But Wendy… he couldn’t risk her like that. He could never do that. 

If surrendering kept her alive, even for a minute longer, then of course he’d do it. 

He managed to raise his head, eyes widening as he saw Wendy on the other side of the cell. She stared at him with teary eyes, arms chained behind her back, and muzzle covering the lower half of her face. 

Gajeel growled. If he ever got his hands on that  _ fucking _ Knightwalker bitch… 

Wendy tried to say something, but with the muzzle, it was impossible to understand. 

He shook his head, his own chains rattling with the movement. It took quite the bit of maneuvering, but he managed to make his way across the cell, as much as the chain hooked to the wall would allow, anyways. 

Wendy crawled forward as well, desperate for any kind of touch she could get. They laid in the middle of the cell, pressed against each other, chains clasped so tightly it made their wrists ache. 

The cold metal of Wendy’s muzzle scraped against his chest as she nuzzled close to him. Gajeel couldn’t imagine how terrifying this must be for her. At least he’d been in similar situations before. 

This wasn’t like when she had been imprisoned at the Tower of Heaven, surrounded by friends, and escaping almost immediately. 

This was a dungeon, and there was no way out. 

Another worry ate at him. 

If he and Wendy were together, why wasn’t Natsu here? Where had he been taken? Did Knightwalker have him? She seemed to have some kind of sick interest in him. 

But it wasn’t like he could do anything about it, he just hoped his brother was okay. 

All they could do was rely on Mystogan. 

* * *

Knightwalker hummed as she peeled his lip up, gazing at his teeth, poking at the largest set of fangs. 

It took everything in Natsu to keep from snapping at her hand, but he  _ didn’t _ want to be muzzled again. He would take almost anything over that. 

She moved on from his teeth, examining his pointed ears, his scales, his claws. 

He jerked against the restraints that pinned him to the wall, but of course it did nothing. Well, except cause Knightwalker to snort with laughter. 

“Ever since we were informed of dragon slayers, I have to admit, you fascinated me,” she said, stepping back and getting out of his personal space,  _ finally.  _ “I won’t tell you what we need you for, but… I like you.” 

He growled. 

She laughed. “I  _ really _ like you. I could use a crazy bastard willing to fight anyone at my side.” 

Natsu narrowed his eyes. Was she  _ seriously _ trying to convince him to fight for her? She had to know that was ridiculous, right? 

“Come on,” she purred, leaning in close again. So close he felt her breath on his ear, which caused it to twitch. “You love fighting, I can tell. Do those fucking fairies really let you off the leash very often? I’ll let you tear the enemy apart, never stopping you.” 

His growl turned to a snarl. Fairy Tail didn’t have an issue with him fighting, and sure, yeah, they did stop him from rampaging and getting  _ too _ out of control, but he  _ wanted _ them to do that! He didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, or get so out of control he lost himself for good. 

Knightwalker leaned back. “You don’t have to answer now. Just think about it.” She smiled. “And as a little favor, I’ll leave the muzzle off.” She kicked the metal contraption away from where she discarded it earlier, leaving it to skid across the cell. “I look forward to hearing your answer.” 

She left him alone in the dark cell. 

* * *

Mystogan let out a relieved breath as he found what he was looking for. In the deep tunnels of the castle, a small bit of the lacrima the Fairy Tail mages had been turned into. 

He broke the lacrima, not really caring what wizards he ended up with at that point. 

Light exploded as it shattered, shaping into two forms. Within seconds, the light solidified, revealing Erza and Gray. 

“What…” Gray began, glancing around. “The fuck is going on?” 

_ “Mystogan?” _ Erza demanded. 

He shook his head. “No time to explain everything. We’ve got to rescue your idiot dragon slayers.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I'm keeping up with nano and my fics? Haha, it won't last but I'm gonna ride this high as long as I can. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm super happy Gray and Erza are back in the mix.


	29. Knightwalker's Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knightwalker continues her efforts to sway Natsu to her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had entirely waaaaaay too much fun with this, and I have no regrets

“God, can we not just relax anymore? What the hell did we do to the universe?” Gray asked after Mystogan finished explaining what was going on. “I swear, it’s just one thing after the other now.” 

Erza sighed, not able to disagree with him. Phantom Lord, the Tower of Heaven, Laxus attacking, Jellal, and now  _ this, _ an alternate  _ world _ hellbent on stealing their magic from them. 

Frankly, it was getting a little ridiculous. 

“Why do they even want the dragon slayers?” Gray asked. “What’s so different about them? Also, how did those dumbasses even get captured if they weren’t pulled in with us?” 

“Ah, I believe Erza’s counterpart was the one to do them in,” Mystogan answered, motioning for them to follow him through the castle’s tunnels. 

She frowned at that. He explained how Edolas had counterparts for pretty much everyone in Earthland, which was why he looked like Jellal. Erza was relieved to have an explanation to that, but she didn’t like knowing that her counterpart would participate in something like…  _ that.  _

“And as for why they want the dragon slayers,” he continued. “I have to admit that I’m not completely sure. I have my suspicions, though. Dragon slayer magic… there’s not a lot known about it, but it is  _ powerful. _ I think they may want to use it somehow, channel it, to help with turning the rest of our guildmates into magical energy.” 

“Channel it?” Gray asked. “But unwilling channeling is painful, and I really doubt they’re gonna just let them  _ do  _ that.” 

Erza grimaced. He was right. Even willing channeling could hurt, magic energy was finicky that way. In fact, very few mages even risked channeling each other. If this kingdom was going to forcefully channel magic from Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel… She couldn’t even imagine how much it would hurt to forcefully rip magic energy that powerful away from them. 

Mystogan sighed. “I’m aware of that, which is why we need to try and get to them before it comes to that.” 

Erza prayed he knew where he was going in these tunnels. She wouldn’t even be able to find her way back to the room they’d come from. 

“Oh!” Mystogan tossed a bottle of little pills over his shoulder. “Each of you take one of those or you won’t be able to use your magic.” 

Erza swallowed the pill, and magic energy ran through her once again. Gray complained about the bitter taste. 

“I know the Exceeds are involved somehow, though I haven’t quite figured that one out either,” Mystogan said. 

“Exceeds?” Erza questioned. 

“Cats with wings, like Happy and Charle. They know about the plan, that much I’m sure of, but… I don’t know, something about it just doesn’t add up. The king is hiding something, he always is…” he said. 

Erza didn’t feel like unpacking all of that, so she didn’t ask any more questions. She’d let Mystogan handle whatever  _ plan _ this world had, and she would worry about fighting when the time came, and rescuing her friends. 

* * *

“Get up,” the guard barked, not even giving Wendy the chance to move before yanking her to her feet. 

Her chains rattled as she struggled to keep her balance, especially with her legs chained together. The guard clicked a thick, metal collar around her neck, which had another chain hooked to it, like a  _ leash.  _

She really had become a dog, hadn’t she? 

Gajeel managed to snarl through the muzzle, but it wasn’t too long before he was in the same situation. 

They were led through the halls by their chain leashes, unable to fight back at all with their arms chained behind their backs, and barely even able to keep up with their legs loosely chained together. The muzzles had also been tightened, as if it were even possible for them to loosen. 

She didn’t see the point in them, either. With magic dampening cuffs on, they couldn’t use breath attacks, and they couldn’t bite unless they were stupid enough to get near their mouths. (Not that Wendy would ever bite anyone, but she knew the same couldn’t be said for Gajeel). 

She suspected it was more meant to humiliate them, at this point.

Soldiers snickered as they were paraded by, some even clicking their tongues and patting her head. 

It was  _ definitely _ meant to humiliate them. 

They were taken to a large room, and chained up to what looked kind of like a giant lacrima. The crystal-like material was cool against her back. It felt like it was trying to suck the life out of her. She did her best to cringe away from it, but the chains kept her pinned. 

Gajeel tried to fight his own bonds next to her, but ultimately got nowhere. He gave her a reassuring look, the best he could do given the situation, but it did very little to make her feel better. 

She’d been scared before. When Grandine disappeared and her and Natsu were left alone in the woods, her first quest, her first life or death fight, the Tower of Heaven, when she found out she was turning into a dragon. She’d been scared  _ lots _ of times. 

But right now… Right now she was beyond scared. She was  _ terrified.  _ She didn’t know what Edolas wanted from her, but she knew it wasn’t good, and when they got what they wanted, there was no doubt in Wendy’s mind that they were going to kill her. 

It was only a matter of time. 

* * *

“Have you given my offer any thought?” Knightwalker asked as she walked into Natsu’s cell. 

His head snapped up. “Go to hell,” he snarled. He would  _ never _ work for her, and she had to be an idiot if she really thought he would. 

She didn’t look disappointed by his words. Rather, she smirked. “I figured you might say something like that. So how about you come with me, and I’ll rephrase the question…” She began unchaining him. “And don’t attack. I guarantee you will regret it.” 

He snarled, but with the magic dampening cuffs on, no idea where his siblings were, and in the middle of enemy territory, he knew she was right. Even  _ he _ knew how stupid it would be to try and fight her right now. 

After being released, he stretched his limbs, rolled his shoulders, trying to dislodge the ache that had built in his bones and muscles after being unable to move for so long. 

With little else to do, he followed Knightwalker through the halls of whatever castle or fortress they were in. He didn’t expect her to be able to convince him to work for her, there was no way in  _ hell, _ but there wasn’t much else he could do. 

And maybe he could learn something. That’s what Erza and Gray would try, right? Learn about their enemy? 

He followed her onto a balcony that overlooked a large room, containing a giant crystal that looked like it might be some kind of lacrima. 

And chained to that lacrima… 

He dashed towards the edge of the balcony, leaning over it. “Wendy! Gajeel!” He whipped around to bare his teeth at Knightwalker. “What the hell are you doing to them!?” 

She hummed. “Nothing yet.” She stepped forward and slung her arm over his shoulders. He cringed. “But I’ll tell you a little secret, dragon slayer…. We need your magic for our plan of returning magic to our world.” She pulled him closer, and god, he  _ hated _ her touch. “You’re about to see how we get it.” 

His eyes widened. “You can’t… You’re going to channel from them?” He shoved her away, damn the consequences. “You can’t do that!” 

She pretended to pout at him pushing her away. “Yes, we can. And we will.” 

Natsu knew if it weren’t for the magic dampening cuffs he would have been on fire. “That could kill them!” Channeling was hard enough when both parties were willing, but for dragon slayers… Once, a long time ago, he and Wendy tried to channel each other. It had been disastrous, ending with both of them in excruciating pain, for  _ hours. _ And now, these people were going to channel them by  _ force, _ taking god knew how much magic. 

Knightwalker nodded. “You’re right. If we take it all at once with no reprieve, just taking and taking and taking, it very well could.” 

The crystal began to glow, and Wendy and Gajeel jerked. They couldn’t even scream thanks to the muzzles, strangled noises that were somehow worse were all they managed. 

Natsu flinched back, clawing at his ears, desperately wanting to block out the noises. “Stop!” he shouted, though he knew it would accomplish nothing. “You-You…  _ Stop!”  _ He backed away from the railing, even as Wendy and Gajeel’s screaming grew more ragged and pained. The crystal’s glow intensified as it channeled them. “Please…” He held his hand over his chest. “Channel me instead! Use me!” 

Wendy couldn’t handle this, she just  _ couldn’t, _ and Gajeel… He’d been through enough already. 

Knightwalker smiled, a twisted, feral thing. “Now, I admit that’s an interesting offer, but that would only help one of them, since we need at least two. But… I have another solution.” 

Natsu took another step backwards.  _ No, no, no, no…  _ He knew what she wanted, and he couldn’t do that, he just  _ couldn’t!  _ But… what choice did he have? He couldn’t let Wendy and Gajeel die! 

“I’ll make sure the king doesn’t take too much at once, make sure they’re taken care of, kept alive,” she said.  _ “If _ you fight for me.” 

He wanted to tell her no, to light her on fire, but Wendy and Gajeel still screamed. 

He bowed his head. “Okay… Just… Please don’t kill them.” 

Knightwalker ran her fingers through his hair. “I told you you would come around.” 

* * *

“I thought you said we were rescuing Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel,” Gray said. “If that’s what we’re doing, why did we leave the castle?” 

Mystogan sighed. “You were in the tunnels, and I’m pretty sure they’re in the towers. It’d be hard to get into the towers unnoticed all the way from the tunnels.” 

Gray huffed, and tugged at the ridiculous mask Mystogan insisted he wore, not unlike his own. Erza grabbed his hand and pulled it down. “I know you’re not exactly a fan of layers, Gray, but we can’t be identified,” she said. 

He rolled his eyes, but she did have a point. “I just feel like we’re wasting time.” 

“We’re waiting until nightfall,” Mystogan said. “Then you two can find your friends, and I can confront the king about his plans. It will be far easier for us.” 

“Whatever,” Gray muttered. 

* * *

Knightwalker wasted no time in turning him into her  _ soldier.  _ She put him in armor that complimented her own, the same dark colors that clearly marked him as a soldier of the kingdom. 

The collar was what got him. The fucking  _ collar.  _ It was better than a muzzle, but only just barely. A thick band of black metal that was too cold against his throat, with a clip on the back meant for a chain, should Knightwalker ever decide she wanted to leash him like an animal. 

It pissed him the hell off, but he couldn’t tell her no, not with Wendy and Gajeel on the line. 

“I know dragon slayers have an amazing sense of smell,” she said as they walked through the halls of the castle. “We’ve got a general area of where Fairy Tail is, but I want you to pin them down, and help me bring them in.” 

He froze. She wanted him to  _ what?  _ Attack Fairy Tail? But they… that was  _ Fairy Tail, _ he couldn’t just do that! They’d helped him! Even if they weren’t his friends, he couldn’t hurt them! 

“Oh?” Knightwalker turned around. “You don’t want to?” 

Natsu swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He knew exactly what would happen if he refused. He just hadn’t expected… Not immediately, not  _ them.  _ “I can do it,” he forced out. Maybe they could teleport away like they had last time. Yeah, there was no guarantee they’d actually catch them. The Fairy Tail mages would be fine. 

“Good,” she said. “I want the fairies in chains at my feet.” 

* * *

Whatever the hell Knightwalker’s flying monsters were, they were fast. They covered the desert in minutes, landing in the forest, out towards a group of floating islands. 

Natsu hoped they were wrong, and that Fairy Tail was nowhere near here, and that he couldn’t pick up a scent, but as soon as they landed, he could already smell them. They were close. 

He could lie, but if Knightwalker figured it out… No, he couldn’t lie. He had to trust that Fairy Tail could out-maneuver them and get away. 

Knightwalker jumped from her steed, motioning for Natsu to follow. As soon as he was on the ground, she undid the magic dampening cuffs on his wrists. “I trust you won’t do anything stupid with the other slayers’ lives on the line,” she said. “Besides, I’d love to see exactly what your fire can do.” 

He should have felt relieved at being able to use his magic again, but only dread filled him. Knightwalker definitely expected him to use it against Fairy Tail. 

“Come on,” she said. “Hunt them down. We don’t have all day.” She gestured towards the woods. 

He growled, but it didn’t take him long to pin down the exact direction Fairy Tail’s scent came from. With little choice, he lead Knightwalker and the soldiers towards the guildhall. 

* * *

Lucy had yelled at Dragion the entire way back to the guildhall. It didn’t help that a group of soldiers tailed them on their way back and they had to relocate again. It sucked up the last of the power they had, and the fact that they couldn’t teleport anymore left the guild’s spirits low. 

Lisanna hoped Natsu and the others managed to stop the capital. Fairy Tail wasn’t going to survive much longer if they didn’t. 

The guildhall’s door was thrown open, and Cana ran inside, eyes wide with fear. “Knightwalker!” she gasped. “She found us!” 

Lisanna’s eyes widened. How had she found them so quickly? They had nowhere to run, now! They were screwed! 

The guild fell into chaos as everyone panicked. Lucy did her best to calm them down, but even she had trouble keeping the fear out of her voice. 

Knightwalker was here, probably with an army, and they had nowhere to run. 

If there was ever a time to panic, it was now. 

“Everyone,  _ SHUT UP!”  _ Lucy screamed as she climbed onto the bar. 

The guildhall quieted, wide eyes turning to their leader. 

“The Fairy Hunter is here, and we can’t run,” she said. “We can either sit here and let her kill us one by one, like rats in a trap. Or we can go out and fight! I won’t lie, we probably won’t win, but it’s better than rolling over and taking it!” 

“She’s right!” Mirajane added. “Us going quietly won’t make Knightwalker show us mercy.” 

Lisanna clutched handfuls of her dress. Was this really how she was going to die? At the hands of Erza’s counterpart, knowing that her original Fairy Tail family was in danger? 

Was this really it? 

With new determination, though it certainly didn’t quell the fear in the air, Fairy Tail walked out of their guildhall. 

Knightwalker waited for them, as if she knew they were going to come face her. 

But that wasn’t who Lisanna was focused on. At Knightwalker’s right, stood Natsu. 

He wore armor that matched hers, and didn’t look to be a prisoner at all. Knightwalker ran her fingers along his jaw, and gently pulled his head towards her. “I have to say,” she said. “Dragon slayers are  _ so _ useful. His nose found you in minutes, while it would have taken us weeks.” 

Lisanna stiffened. No. No, there was  _ no way, _ Natsu wouldn’t… he  _ wouldn’t _ do that! 

Knightwalker’s hands drifted down to the collar around his neck, and she gave it a little tug. “He’s my new favorite soldier.” 

Natsu snarled and jerked away. 

“Ah ah ah,” Knightwalker said. “Come on. Do what you said you would do. I want the fairies at my feet.” 

Lisanna took hasty steps backwards. These people didn’t know what Natsu could do with magic, magic that could have only gotten stronger in the past few years. “Run,” she whispered. They needed to  _ run.  _

Fire ignited over Natsu’s body. 

“What the hell are you doing!?” Lucy shouted, taking a step forward. “Why are you helping her!?” 

Natsu didn’t answer. The fire blazed hotter, and he took slow steps forward. 

“Run!” Lisanna shouted. “You can’t beat him!” 

The dragon slayer thrusted his fist forward and a wall of fire raced towards them. Everyone screamed and scrambled backwards, too focused on evading the flames to notice Natsu and Knightwalker rush forward. 

Knightwalker’s blade cut through anyone who dared to get in her way, and anyone who dodged the sword, found themselves facing Natsu’s fire and claws. 

Lisanna’s legs shook as she tried to drag an unconscious Juvia out of harm’s way. 

Why was he doing this? What had happened to Natsu? 

* * *

He tried to quell the tremors in his hands as he attacked the Fairy Tail mages. Their screams… They were no different than his friends.’ 

He found himself back to back with Knightwalker as Fairy Tail’s strongest attacked them with their magic items. “We fight pretty good together, don’t you think?” she asked. “Almost like we’ve been doing this for years.” 

Natsu growled. It was just because her fighting style was so similar to Erza’s, he couldn’t help but fall into his place at her right, just like he’d been doing since he was a little kid. 

Much to his dismay, it didn’t take them long to take down the Fairy Tail members, and the regular soldiers began chaining them up. 

“You bastard!” Lucy spit at him, as she struggled against the soldiers that carried her away. “You fucking  _ bastard! _ We helped you!” 

Natsu hung his head. He  _ knew _ that, but… he couldn’t be more loyal to these people than his real guild. If it was their lives or his siblings’ and friends,’ he’d choose them all over again. 

It didn’t mean he didn’t feel guilty over it, though. 

“N-Natsu… why would you…” Lisanna whimpered as she was tugged away by chains on her wrists. “I don’t understand… You would  _ never _ betray your friends!” 

He grit his teeth, tearing his gaze away from her. He didn’t want this…. Why didn’t they run away!? 

He tensed as Knightwalker laid her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve earned the slayers another day,” she said. “And you can’t tell me that wasn’t a little fun.” 

Natsu wanted nothing more than to burn her hand to a crisp and bash her teeth in, but he  _ couldn’t do that. _ Not until Gajeel and Wendy were safe. “I’ll kill you,” he muttered. “As soon as I get the chance. I’ll tear you into fucking pieces.” 

She threw her head back and cackled. “I would expect nothing less, dragon slayer. If you ever get the chance, I look forward to that fight.” 

Smoke leaked from the corners of his mouth, and Knightwalker slapped the magic dampening cuffs back on. “Don’t get too brash,” she warned. “Or I’ll dig out your leash and muzzle.” 

He hissed, but didn’t threaten her again. 

* * *

After what seemed like hours, Gajeel was unchained from the lacrima-like crystal. He collapsed to the floor, unable to even stand up. His body still spasmed, each nerve still felt like it was on fire. 

With the tiny amount of strength he had left, he crawled towards Wendy. He had to make sure she was okay. She was so much smaller and younger than him, she couldn’t handle something like that! 

He just barely managed to reach her and be sure she was still breathing when a guard dragged him away. He tried to fight back, but he could still barely move, and couldn’t do much to keep the guard from dragging him away. 

Within seconds, he passed out. 

* * *

Erza and Gray snuck back into the castle as soon as it was dark, branching off from Mystogan. He pointed them in the direction of the cells that high level prisoners were kept in, while he went to confront the king. 

Gray followed Erza’s lead, sticking to the shadows, deciding to hide from the guards when they could, not wanting to cause a commotion. 

It worked, until they rounded a corner and came face to face with… 

_ Erza! _ Erza and Natsu. 

Erza, the  _ real _ one, tensed next to him, and he remembered what Mystogan said about Erza Knightwalker being an enemy here. 

That didn’t explain Natsu, though. He hadn’t heard anything about him being an enemy here, but he was dressed in the kingdom’s armor, and definitely didn’t look like a prisoner that Knightwalker was transporting. So that must mean that this Natsu was an enemy as well. 

Damn, that was weird. 

He didn’t want to fight Natsu. Sure, they fought all the time, but not  _ seriously. _ He didn’t want to do this, even if it wasn’t really him. 

“Oh, this is certainly interesting,” Knightwalker said. She nudged Natsu’s shoulder. “Now fight them.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super excited for the next few chapters!!! 
> 
> I'm gonna try and wrap up Edolas within the next four or so chapters, but who knows. After that there will be a few chill chapters, and then Tenrou Island!


	30. Erza vs Erza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystogan finds out Edolas's plan for magic, and Erza challenges Knightwalker to a duel.

His father was just as he remembered him, even if the memories weren’t much. 

“Ah, I wondered when you might show up again,” King Faust said. 

Mystogan removed his mask, letting it fall around his neck to reveal his face. “I see you have grown no kinder over the years.” 

Faust sniffed. “I see you only grew more uncivilized. Earthland really did a number on you.” 

Mystogan rolled his eyes. He knew his father likely couldn’t tell in the darkened room, but it was still satisfying. 

“You really spent all these years, trying to thwart my plans, and yet… you’ve failed,” Faust said. “So why are you here now? To beg for forgiveness?” 

At that, Mystogan couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? I know you don’t know me all that well, but that’s quite the assumption. I’m here because I want to know  _ exactly _ what you plan to do with the Fairy Tail mages. I know you plan to take their magic from them, and the dragon slayers and Exceeds are somehow involved, but I can’t figure out  _ how.”  _

“And why should I tell you?” Faust asked. 

Mystogan shrugged. “Oh I don’t know. You’re confident, aren’t you? And true, I got past your guards, but how am I supposed to get back out?” 

Faust seemed to consider his words. “You’re loyal to the Earthland people, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, but I’m also loyal to the people of Edolas, and this plan of yours does nothing to aid either group. All you’re doing is hurting both worlds,” he said. 

Faust scoffed and shook his head. “You’re incredibly naive, boy.” 

“Are you going to tell me your plan or not?” Mystogan asked. If his father was going to dance around the answer, he’d go persuade some other court member to give it up. Maybe even Pantherlily knew. He was sure to be around somewhere. 

Faust smiled. “I plan to smash the Earthland lacrima and Extalia together with dragon slayer magic. The reaction is sure to jump start the creation of magic in Edolas.” 

Mystogan sighed. Of course, he hadn’t known the specifics, but he didn’t doubt the king’s plan involved sacrificing countless lives. He was disappointed, but not remotely surprised. “I see. I expected as much from you.” 

Before the king could say anything else, he melted back into the shadows. 

He’d been considering his own plan of taking all magic from Edolas for a while now, but after seeing the lengths that the kingdom and the army would go to create more, he saw he truly had no choice. 

The people would not support his decision, but it was the best for Edolas, he knew that now. He had to take magic away from these people, it corrupted, when there wasn’t enough to go around, just like anything could. 

And if he had to be framed as the villain in this situation, then so be it. He could live, and die, with that. Now that he had no doubts about his plan anymore, his resolve had only strengthened. 

He would leave the rescue of the Fairy Tail mages up to Erza, Gray, and the dragon slayers. He had faith that they could accomplish at least that much. 

So he set out to find Pantherlily, and set his plan into motion. 

* * *

Natsu could only stare at Gray and Erza as Knightwalker’s words registered.  _ Fight them.  _ Fight Erza and Gray, or Wendy and Gajeel died. 

If he thought he had a hard decision to make when he was told to hunt down Edolas’s Fairy Tail, he was sorely mistaken. 

As he stared at his best friends, hands shaking as Knightwalker removed his magic dampening cuffs, he imagined what it would be like to really and truly  _ fight them.  _

Gray shifted into his ice-make stance, and Natsu couldn’t help but let out an involuntary whine. Knightwalker snarled and shoved him forward. 

Erza’s eyes widened and she grabbed Gray’s shoulder. “Wait.” She took a slow step forward. “Natsu? Is that you? I mean,  _ really _ you?” 

“Yeah.” He managed a wry smile. “Hey Erza.” 

Knightwalker grabbed the back of his collar and gave it a vicious tug. “What did I tell you?” she hissed. “I don’t care if you know each other. Burn them alive or I’ll make sure the other slayers have the most excruciating deaths imaginable. You are  _ mine _ now. Understand? You do what  _ I _ tell you!” 

“You fucking bitch!” Gray spit. “You have Wendy and Gajeel?” He tried to attack, but Erza held him back. “What are you doing!?” he demanded. “I’m gonna beat her face in!” 

Erza took a deep breath. “Knightwalker, correct?” 

Knightwalker’s eyes narrowed. “What of it?” 

Erza summoned her swords. “You captured my friends, and from the sound of it, you hurt them,  _ and _ you turned one into your slave, more or less.” She held her sword out. “I cannot wait to run you through myself. Gray, you and Natsu go get Wendy and Gajeel. I’ll handle her.” 

Knightwalker drew her own sword, and smirked at Natsu. “Do whatever you like, dragon slayer. But know that if you don’t succeed, the other slayers’ lives are forfeit.” 

Without even a moment’s hesitation, he abandoned Knightwalker, settling into his position on Erza’s right. “I said I’d tear you into pieces if I got the chance,” he said as he bared his teeth. “But I think I’ll let Erza have her way with you.” Honestly, compared to a pissed off Erza, he might have been a mercy, and Knightwalker didn’t deserve mercy at all. 

Knightwalker had the decency not to look surprised, but her manic grin only made him uneasy. 

“I said  _ go,” _ Erza said. “Find Gajeel and Wendy. I’ll be fine.” 

“If you’re sure,” Gray said. He grabbed Natsu’s hand and drug him back the way he’d come. “Come on, man. Let’s go find your siblings. Mystogan said the high level prisoners were kept somewhere in this tower.” 

“Gray,” he said, pulling out of his hold and stopping. “Get this collar off. Please. Get it  _ off.”  _ He clawed at it, but he couldn’t find a clasp, or clip, or anything. 

“Okay, okay,” Gray said gently. “I’ll get it.” He fidgeted with the back of the collar for a few seconds, before letting out a frustrated groan. “I’m going to have to freeze it off, is that okay?” 

“Yeah.” Natsu nodded. “It’s fine, I just need it  _ off.”  _ He could still feel Knightwalker’s hands tugging at it when she got bored. And as dumb as he could be, he knew the collar was meant to mark him as her property. It made his skin crawl. 

Gray’s ice was so cold it made his skin hurt, but he didn’t complain. After a few seconds of the excruciating cold, Gray gave it a vicious pull, and the collar crumbled away. 

Natsu immediately rubbed at his throat, relieved to feel air on his skin again. “Thank you.” 

“Yeah, no problem. That was fucked up,” Gray said. “But come on. We need to hurry. Even if Erza beats her, the commotion is bound to alert everyone.” 

Natsu nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I think I can smell them. They’re down this way.” 

* * *

The guard hadn’t bother to chain his hands back together, and Gajeel thanked whatever damned god out there that he hadn’t as he clutched Wendy to his chest. 

Two days of this. Two days of being  _ tortured.  _

They were put in the cells for only a few hours at a time, just enough for the tremors and spasms in their bodies to stop, and then they were chained to the crystal again. 

He still hadn’t seen Natsu. He wondered if he was chained to the crystal when they were in the cell. 

Wendy was unconscious more often than not. As soon as she was unchained from the crystal, she was out. But even in her sleep, he felt her trembling against his chest. She was so limp and lifeless, cold, that the trembling was the only thing that even indicated she was  _ alive. _

He’d tried to undo her muzzle, but his hands were too shaky to pry the clasps open. 

Every time they were chained to that crystal, his hopes of getting out of this situation lowered. His hopes for  Wendy’s _ survival_ lowered. 

He twitched as he heard someone approaching the cells, and he couldn’t help but clutch Wendy tighter to his chest. He knew it would do nothing to keep her safe, but… 

“Gajeel? Oh my god, Gajeel!” 

He forced his head up, almost entirely convinced he’d imagined the voice. But nope, standing outside his cell was Natsu, grinning like a madman. He blasted through the cell door, then moved onto the chains. “Come on, Gray, give me a hand with these.” 

Gajeel squinted. Was Natsu wearing Edolas armor? Why was Gray here? What was going  _ on?  _

Gray froze through Wendy’s chains while Natsu burned through his. He gasped for air after Natsu removed the muzzle, tossing it to the other side of the cell. “Come on, buddy. Come on. You gotta get up, I can’t carry you.” 

Gray slung Wendy over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. From the looks of it, she wasn’t going to be conscious anytime soon. 

“Yeah…” Gajeel muttered. “I know. I just gotta…” He forced himself up on shaky legs. “I’m good.” 

“You’re so not, man,” Gray said. “You look like  _ death.”  _

Natsu grabbed him. “You can at least lean on me. Come on, we gotta get out of here.” 

“Yeah, we gotta meet back up with Mystogan. He’s the only one who’s got any idea of what’s going on around here.” Gray repositioned Wendy as they began to walk down the hall. “Unless that crazy Knightwalker bitch told you anything?” 

Natsu shook his head. “Nah, I was just her over glorified attack dog.” 

“What?” Gajeel gasped, still trying to get his  _ damn legs _ to work like they were supposed to. “What do you mean?” 

Natsu sighed. “She told me if I worked for her, she’d make sure you were kept alive.” 

Gajeel stiffened. That was all too similar to what it had been like in Phantom Lord, the higher ups breathing down his neck, always targeting Juvia, threatening to send her on hopeless missions, or kill her themselves, if he didn’t do what they said, kept himself in check. 

His grip on Natsu’s shoulder tightened. “What did she make you do?” 

“Gajeel…” 

But even Gray seemed concerned about that. “Really man,” he said. “She seemed kind of unhinged.” 

“It’s not important,” Natsu muttered, walking faster, even though that left him practically  _ dragging _ Gajeel. 

“It is too!” Gray said as he jogged to catch up. 

“She didn’t make you kill anyone, did she?” Gajeel asked quietly. 

Natsu went rigid. 

“She did?” he snarled. 

“No! No!” he protested, shaking his head. “But… She sent me after Fairy Tail. And… And they couldn’t beat me and her, and… now they’re prisoners, all of them. I—I  _ hurt _ them. And I—It’s my  _ fault.”  _

“Jesus,” Gray muttered. “I hope Erza cuts her goddamn head off.” 

* * *

Fighting Knightwalker was infuriating. 

With every attack, every swing of her sword, Knightwalker avoided it perfectly, and vice versa. Neither one of them had yet to land a single blow. 

Fighting someone who had the exact same style as her, exact same way of thinking… Erza had experienced nothing like it, and it  _ enraged _ her. 

She wanted nothing more than to stab Knightwalker through the chest for what she’d done to Natsu, for collaring him like an animal, and forcing him into doing god knew what for her. 

She’d put her head on a pike, string her up by her entrails. 

How  _ dare _ someone make Natsu look that scared, that unsure of himself. It was  _ wrong.  _

“Is everyone from your world so vicious?” Knightwalker taunted as she just barely dodged a strike aimed for her head. “I might like it there better than here.” 

Erza hissed as she parried a strike from the general. 

They danced around each other, metal clanging as sword and armor clashed. It could almost be described as beautiful, the way they twirled and spun, had it not been for the brutality of their strikes, or the hatred burning in their eyes. 

Erza tried different requips, trying to find one that would give her even the tiniest of advantages, but even though Knightwalker didn’t share her requip ability, her blades were brutal. Erza suspected they were imbued with some type of magic, they had to be, to withstand blows from her own magical weapons. 

The castle around them began to crumble beneath the weight of their fights. The walls and floor cracked, and the ceiling began to sprinkle down on them. 

Erza landed her first strike thanks to pure luck. 

Knightwalker jumped back, and her foot slipped on a chunk of rubble that had fallen from the ceiling. She stumbled, desperately trying to regain her balance. 

Erza surged forward, and though Knightwalker recovered enough to dodge a killing blow, she couldn’t completely avoid the strike that sliced through her shoulder. 

Erza couldn’t help but grin as Knightwalker cried out and blood splattered against the floor. 

With a scream of rage and pain, Knightwalker surged forward, wildly swinging her sword in an attack that Erza easily blocked. 

With her free hand, Knightwalker pulled a little blade from her belt, and flung it towards Erza. She gasped, and tried to avoid it, but it still sank into her chest. 

Erza yelped and stumbled backwards. She knew better than to remove the knife, but  _ fuck, _ that hurt! 

“Your dragon slayer fell for that one too,” Knightwalker taunted. “Do you morons really assume your enemy only has one weapon?” 

Erza bit back a hiss. “No, but one would assume in a duel such as this that both parties had enough honor not to resort to such cheap tactics.” 

Knightwalker smirked. “I’m just committed to winning.” 

Erza settled into a steady fight stance again. She wasn’t going to go down that easy, and Knightwalker was going to regret ever having made Erza Scarlet angry. 

* * *

It didn’t take Natsu long to sniff Mystogan out. “Mystogan!” he called, shuffling forward as quick as he could with Gajeel still leaning on his shoulder. “Mystogan, what’s going on!?” 

Mystogan gave them a quick once over, then tugged them down another hallway. “Gotta keep moving,” he said. “Stay in one spot too long and soldiers will stumble upon us sooner or later.” 

“Mystogan, I know being cryptic is kinda your thing, but you gotta cut that shit out right now,” Gray said. “We gotta get the rest of our guildmates and then get the  _ hell _ out of here!” 

Natsu nodded. “And save Edolas Fairy Tail. And find Happy and Charle! They weren’t in those cells!” 

Mystogan sighed, and had to fight off the urge to rub his temples. He knew they had some points, and he knew how Fairy Tail was, but sometimes he wished they could function without needing to be  _ babysat.  _

(And Erza wasn’t even around, and she might have been the one person he trusted to keep an eye on them in his stead). 

“Okay, here’s what’s going on,” he said. He explained his father’s plan as quickly as he could. “I believe the main part of the lacrima Fairy Tail was changed into is on a floating island close to Extalia. Someone needs to get up there and break it with magic  _ before _ they crash it into Extalia, since based on how rough you two look, they’ve already got dragon slayer magic.” He almost groaned. Preventing them from getting the dragon slayer magic would have been the easiest way to stop this, but that was no longer an option. 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Gray demanded. 

“We find your Exceeds, and they can get you up there,” Mystogan said. “While we’re at it, we’ll release the Fairy Tail mages. Hopefully that will cause some chaos and help to disguise what we’re really up to,” he said. “As for getting you home, I have a plan for that, you’ll just have to trust me, okay?” 

Much to his surprise, Natsu and Gray nodded. 

* * *

Erza heaved ragged breaths, leaning on her sword as she tried to recover from a blow to the stomach. 

Her only consolation was that Knightwalker wasn’t faring much better. 

Blood covered both of them, leaking from numerous cuts. Erza knew if this wasn’t finished soon, one of them would pass out, and she wasn’t confident that it wouldn’t be her. She needed to end this  _ quickly.  _

She forced herself to stand up straight, and hold her sword out once more. She swung, and Knightwalker blocked, sparks flying as their blades drug against each other. 

“You won’t win, not against me,” Knightwalker spit, blood dribbling down her chin. “I’ll gut you like a fish, then I’ll put the dragon slayers’ heads on pikes, and I’ll make Dragneel  _ watch.” _

Erza screamed, and summoned another sword into her free hand. 

Knightwalker’s eyes widened and she tried to leap backwards, pulling her blade away from the stalemate, but she wasn’t quite fast enough. 

Erza shoved her katana through Knightwalker’s gut, cracking the armor around her blade. She pushed her against the wall, shoving the blade deeper, and deeper. 

Knightwalker coughed and spluttered, blood flying from her mouth. 

Erza removed the blade, and let her slide down the wall, a smear of blood left where her body touched. 

She collapsed among the rubble, twitching and gasping. 

With how much blood she had already loss, she wouldn’t last long with a wound like that. So Erza grabbed her hair and yanked her head up. “That’s for Natsu.” She dropped her, and left her to bleed out on the cold, dirty floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a little bit clearer of a plan for wrapping up the Edolas arc now, and I'm hoping to do so in the next two (three at the most) chapters. 
> 
> Also! I wrote a super sad, depressing Fairy Tail oneshot. It doesn't have anything to do with this fic, but if you just wanna feel sad and kinda melancholy for a little bit, you should go check it out!


	31. The Lacrima

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray breaks out Edolas Fairy Tail, Mystogan asks Erza for help, and Natsu works to free Fairy Tail from the lacrima

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for all the support and comments this fic has been getting! I'm glad you all enjoy it so much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter

Lisanna shivered. These cells were  _ freezing, _ and the metal chains they’d been restrained with only sucked up what little body heat she had. She, Lucy, Levy, and Wendy huddled together, trying to conserve the warmth, but it wasn’t really doing much. 

“God, if they’re gonna execute us, I wish they’d just get it fucking over with,” Levy grumbled. “This fucking sucks.” 

Lucy whacked the back of Levy’s head. “You  _ tryin’ _ to jinx us? I bet they’ll be here any second now to drag us to the executioner!” 

Levy  _ tsk _ ed and rolled her eyes. 

“I cannot  _ believe _ this is how I die,” Wendy grumbled. “With you losers in a dungeon. God, it’s embarrassing.” 

Lisanna curled into herself, still not accepting how they’d ended up in this situation. Why had Natsu betrayed them? Why would he lead the kingdom to them? Would he have done that if he knew who she was? 

She shook her head. Thinking along those lines was only going to make her more upset. 

Heavy footsteps approached their cell. 

“Ah! What did I tell you!?” Lucy whacked Levy again, chains rattling. “You just got us fucking executed!” 

“Holy hell, this is weird as fuck.”

_ “Gray?” _ Lucy demanded. “How the hell did you get out!?” 

Lisanna jerked her head up, and found herself wondering for what felt like the  _ billionth _ time, what had happened to Fairy Tail while she was gone. 

“Yeah, don’t think I’m the Gray you know,” Gray said as she gently set Wendy’s unconscious body down. He froze through the gate in seconds. 

But all Lisanna could focus on was the black marking that covered his arm, and a small part of his face. And his  _ solid black _ eye. 

Lucy frowned as he froze through her chains. “You’re another Earthland mage?” 

He nodded. “Yeah. Natsu, Gajeel, and Mystogan found you guys and left me to get you out.” He moved on to Levy’s chains. 

Lucy’s frown deepened. “Natsu? He’s the one who  _ put _ us in here!” 

Gray growled, and it did not sound human  _ at all.  _ “Knightwalker threatened to kill his siblings if he didn’t do what she said.” 

Relief washed over Lisanna, followed by even more hatred for Knightwalker. That was beyond cruel. To put someone as loyal as Natsu in a position like that… She couldn’t even imagine what must have been going through his head when he’d been ordered to attack them like that. 

Levy hissed. “That bitch…” 

Gray smirked. “Don’t worry about her. Erza’s dealing with her, so she’s probably regretting every life decision she’s ever made right about now.” 

“Erza?” Wendy asked. “Like… your world’s version of Knightwalker?” 

He nodded. “And she was  _ pissed. _ Well, I was too.” He growled again. “I wish  _ I _ could tear her limb from limb myself, but Erza wasn’t leaving any room for arguments.” He finished freezing through their chains and picked Wendy back up. “But we gotta move. All hell’s about to break loose.” 

“Huh?” Lisanna asked, rubbing her wrists to return the feeling to them. 

Gray slung Wendy over his shoulder and motioned for them to hurry up. “Well for one, we just staged a prison break. Two, Erza’s beating a high up general’s ass. Three, the king knows Mystogan knows his plan. So yeah, things are about to go south really fast.” He sighed and shook his head. “So here’s the deal. I’m staying with you guys while we break everyone else out. Mystogan’s going to enact whatever cryptic-ass plan he has, and Natsu, Gajeel, Happy, and Charle are going to break the rest of Fairy Tail out of their lacrima. Our job is to cause enough of a commotion that the kingdom either doesn’t notice, or doesn’t have enough manpower to try and stop them.” He handed Wendy to Wendy and froze through the next cell door, ignoring the confused chatter of the mages inside. 

Lisanna couldn’t help but laugh after he finished describing the plan. It was so ridiculous, so much of a last ditch effort… Edolas Fairy Tail  _ never _ would have tried something like that. She’d missed their recklessness and determination to make even the most half-baked schemes work. 

Wendy held Wendy out like a dirty stray cat she’d found. “I still don’t like this.” 

* * *

As soon as they’d found the cells the Fairy Tail mages and the Exceeds were kept in, Mystogan broke off from their group again. 

Gajeel wondered what he was up to, but he was a shifty guy. He obviously had some type of plan, and he was crafty enough he could probably make it work. 

“Natsu!” Happy exclaimed as soon as they found their cell. “I was so worried about you! We’ve been in here  _ forever!”  _

“Where’s Wendy?” Charle demanded. 

“She’s with Gray,” Natsu said. “She’ll be okay.” 

Gajeel grimaced. It was probably a good thing the damn cat hadn’t seen her, as protective as she was. She might have a come apart. 

Gajeel had recovered enough now that at least he could walk on his own, but even he could admit he might not be of much use during a fight, at the moment. He really hoped they didn’t have a bunch of soldiers guarding the lacrima. 

“What’s going on?” Happy asked as he bounded into Natsu’s arms. “How did you escape?” 

“I promise I’ll explain everything later, buddy,” Natsu said as he stroked Happy’s ears. “But right now we need you to get us up to a floating island. Can you do that?” 

Charle frowned. “It depends on how far it is. Our magic isn’t exactly stable here.” She eyed Gajeel with disdain. “Am I correct to assume that he’s the one you want  _ me _ to carry?” 

Personally, Gajeel had  _ no idea _ how this fucking tiny cat was supposed to carry him, but he’d been assured it was possible. “Mystogan said it should be right above the city.” 

“All right, we should be able to handle that, right, Happy?” Charle said. 

“Aye, sir!” 

* * *

Mystogan found Erza stumbling away from Knightwalker’s body.  _ Ah, perfect.  _ “Did you kill her?” he asked. 

She nodded as she leaned against the wall, leaving a smear of blood thanks to her injured shoulder. 

“Okay. I need you to pretend to be Knightwalker, so switch clothes with her,” he said. 

_ “What?” _ she demanded. 

Mystogan sighed. Really, he had been hoping Pantherlily could do this, since he would be left behind to lead Edolas, but this was the next best thing. The citizens of Edolas viewed Knightwalker as something of a hero, for hunting down guilds. It would convey pretty much the same message if she killed him after he removed magic from this world. “Could you please just do it?” he asked. “And hurry.” He doubted his father had any idea what he was planning, but he didn’t want to risk it. 

“Fine,” she said. 

She stripped Knightwalker’s limp body of her armor. 

* * *

Wendy awoke to being shaken, like some kind of ragdoll. It made her headache worse. She couldn’t help but groan. 

The shaking stopped. “I think she’s waking up!” someone shouted. 

“Shit, which one of you had healing magic items, or whatever the hell they are? Get over here!” 

She was placed on something hard, and cold. The ground, probably. She forced her eyes open, to see Gray leaning over her. “Mister… Gray…?” 

He snorted and shook his head. “How many times do I have to tell you just to call me  _ Gray?” _ But he smiled. “How are you feeling, Wendy?” 

“Sore…” she said. “And tired.” She tried to sit up, but he pushed her back down. “Don’t move until someone tries to heal you. All that channeling probably did some serious damage.” 

Channeling. Right. That horrible crystal that had stolen her and Gajeel’s magic over and over and over. Why wasn’t she there now? How had she gotten out? Why was  _ Gray _ here? 

“Uh, Wendy, I think these are yours!” someone shouted. “Get to work on that little brat.” 

A few moments later, Edolas Wendy kneeled over her as well, magic items in hand. “Hey there,” she said. The magic items began to glow as she held them over her body. “I’ll getcha fixed up as fast as I can, okay?” 

“Where are we?” Wendy coughed. 

“The castle’s storerooms, looking for Fairy Tail’s confiscated magic items,” Gray said. “Since they’re damn useless in a fight without them.” 

Edolas Wendy stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Gajeel?” she suddenly remembered. “Is he okay!?” 

“Calm down, calm down,” Gray said. “He’s fine. He’s with Natsu, and they’re going to break out the rest of Fairy Tail.  _ Our _ Fairy Tail. Okay?” 

She nodded, and couldn’t help but sigh as the tension and pain in her body was removed by Edolas Wendy’s healing. Within a few seconds, she was back on her feet. She wouldn’t say she was in peak condition, but  _ definitely _ a lot better off than she had been. 

“Everyone got their magic items!?” Lucy shouted. 

The guild cheered. 

“Right! Then let’s show these bastards how big of a mistake they made messing with Fairy Tail!” 

Wendy laughed and shook her head. Maybe their Edolas counterparts weren’t so different after all. 

The guild scattered throughout the castle, breaking off into groups of three or four, to cause as much chaos and confusion as possible. 

“Come on,” Gray said. “Let’s help them out.” 

* * *

Mystogan was right. The floating island containing the lacrima was right above the city. However… 

“That’s  _ huge!”  _ Natsu exclaimed, flailing in Happy’s grip. “You know how much magic it’s gonna take the break that!” 

Gajeel narrowed his eyes. Not only was it going to take a lot of magic, it was going to take  _ time,  _ and they had no idea how much of that they had. They could try smashing the lacrima into Extalia at any second now.  _ And _ Gajeel was pretty much running on empty. The channeling had drained him. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to use enough magic to be of much help with breaking it. 

Happy and Charle dropped them down on the island. 

“Mystogan said the other Exceeds lived on Extalia,” Natsu said. “Why dontcha go warn them so maybe they can get out if… ya know… worse comes to worse?” he suggested. 

Happy and Charle exchanged a look, but nodded, and then flew off in the direction of Extalia. 

The lacrima was even bigger up close, towering over them. Gajeel was pretty sure it was bigger than the guildhall. 

Natsu took a deep breath. “Might as well get started. It ain’t gonna break itself.”

“I wouldn’t advise that,” a voice said behind them. 

Gajeel almost groaned. Of course it wasn’t unguarded. Because that would just makes things  _ too _ easy for them. 

He turned around, coming face to face with what was, thankfully, only one guard. 

“Is that an Exceed?” Natsu asked, cocking his head. “That’s a huge fucking cat.” 

“I have been charged with guarding this lacrima, and as such, I cannot allow you to interfere with it,” he said. “If you leave now, I will not harm you.” 

Gajeel rolled his eyes. He could take this over-glorified cat, even if he  _ did _ have a giant sword. “How the fuck are we even supposed to get off this island thing?” he asked.  _ “Jump?”  _

The Exceed didn’t look like he had considered that. “Well—” 

“Natsu, I’ll handle him, you handle the lacrima,” Gajeel said. 

“Awwwww!” Natsu whined. “Why do  _ you _ get to fight?” 

Gajeel shoved him towards the crystal. “Because right now, you’ve got more magic than me, which is what we need to break that thing, now quit bitching.” 

Natsu snorted, but didn’t protest anymore as he turned back towards the lacrima. 

The Exceed raised his sword. “Are you sure you want to do this?” 

Gajeel grinned and cracked his knuckles. He was itching for a good fight. 

* * *

“You want me to  _ what?” _ Erza demanded as she limped after Mystogan. “I’m not going to kill you! And I’m certainly not going to do it in front of an  _ audience!”  _

“Erza, please,” he said, still not turning to look at her. “This is what Edolas needs. They need to have magic taken away, but they also need a villain to blame it on, since they will never see it as for their own good.” 

“Yeah, but why the hell does it have to be you?” she asked. “Can’t we just throw Knightwalker’s corpse at them and say it was her? Hell, isn’t this the  _ king’s _ plan? Pin it on him!” 

He sighed and shook his head. “That won’t work because Knightwalker is already dead. They’d never believe it. And they’re fiercely loyal to the king here. Unless they  _ saw _ him take magic away, they’d never buy it. Besides, a traitor prince is a great story to sell,  _ especially _ since I haven’t been around in years.” 

Erza rolled her eyes. Mystogan was being ridiculous with this whole plan. “I’m not going to kill you, Mystogan.” 

“You’ve killed before!” he argued. 

She scoffed. “Obviously. But only those who deserve it. You don’t.” 

“If it makes it any easier, just pretend I’m Jellal. I’m sure you’re angry with him over the things he did,” he said. 

That just made Erza laugh. “You really don’t understand my relationship with him.” 

_ Finally, _ Mystogan glanced at her. “Evidently not…” 

“Look, if you really think Edolas deserves to have its magic taken away, then do it,” she said.  _ “But _ , I think you should stay and help your people get back on their feet, whether you take responsibility for it or not.” 

He groaned. “You really are stubborn, aren’t you Titania?” 

She shrugged. “Only when I’m right.” 

He hummed. 

“When you get rid of magic… it’s supposed to send us back to our world, right?” she asked. She assumed that was what he meant when he’d explained his plan to her. 

He nodded. 

“Well, if you really  _ must _ have some type of villain, why not have it be us? Say that evil doppelgängers from another world stole the magic,” she said. “There. Easy.” 

He began to argue, then he frowned. “Actually… that just might work.” 

She nodded. “And you should really flaunt it, make a huge deal out of it, make yourself look  _ good,” _ she said. “After all, obviously you need to get your father off the throne.” 

“I don’t  _ want _ the throne,” he said. 

Erza shrugged. “Then hand it over to someone else. Point is, I don’t think you should let the current king  _ keep it.”  _

“I don’t think you understand how ruling works,” he muttered. 

“Oh, it can’t be that hard,” she said. “Just make rules and boss people arou—” 

The entire castle shuddered, and something akin to an explosion sounded. 

Erza stumbled, and Mystogan just barely caught her, keeping her upright. “What was that?” she asked. “A cannon of some kind? They don’t have jupiter cannons here, do they?” 

Concern flashed over Mystogan’s features. “They’ve launched the dragon slayer magic.” 

* * *

Eventually, most of the fighting ended up outside of the castle. 

Gray wouldn’t say that the Edolas Fairy Tail mages were as powerful as Earthland’s, but they were holding their own against the soldiers, even if they didn’t take as many down as he and Wendy did. 

The spell that bound him and Juvia seemed to be doing its job. At first, he’d been worried about fighting, concerned his magic wouldn’t hold up, or that he’d snap again. But there had yet to be any pain, and he hadn’t gone on any type of demonic rampage. 

He’d have to remember to thank Juvia somehow after they got out of this mess. 

Wendy took down another group of soldiers to his left. “This is easy!” she said. 

As Gray mowed down row after row of soldiers, he couldn’t help but agree. Then again, these  _ were _ just regular people. Fiore required most of its soldiers to have  at least _ some_ magical know-how. It made sense that Edolas soldiers were easier to take down. 

The ground shook beneath their feet, and Wendy fell over with a little  _ oof.  _

A sound similar to a cannon rang through the air, and what looked like a giant chain attached itself to the floating island that contained the Fairy Tail lacrima. 

“Well that can’t be good,” Gray muttered. 

* * *

At first, Natsu thought this would be easy. Just a little fire, he’d touch the lacrima, and  _ poof! _ Fairy Tail guild members would start appearing. 

It was  _ not _ that easy. 

When he ignited his fist and punched the lacrima, it didn’t react at all. Really, all it did was leave his hand a little sore. 

He’d expected the lacrima to just melt away when it came into contact with his magic, but obviously that wasn’t the case. 

He was going to have to use  _ a lot _ of magic. Probably everything he had in him. 

He glanced down at the scales on his arms. The last time he’d done that, at the Tower of Heaven, they had appeared. 

Using his magic sped the transformation up, but it was easy to ignore when he didn’t use much magic at one time, didn’t  _ see _ the changes happening. 

He felt it, somewhere deep inside him, that a big, powerful burst of magic, was going to break something in him. Something big would happen. 

He didn’t know if it would be enough to completely change him, but he knew it would come pretty damn close. 

But what choice did he have? If he didn’t do this, then Fairy Tail, his  _ friends,  _ might be destroyed, just to give this world magic for a little while longer. 

And he couldn’t let that happen. 

He called on his magic, forcing it to build, and build, and build, even as he felt something begin to burn in his chest. He pressed his hands against the lacrima, still storing and collecting his power for a huge blast of fire. 

He grit his teeth, as his body began to ache with the amount of magic he held in it. It wanted to be  _ released, _ but not yet, not quite. It would be best if he could destroy the lacrima in one go, and if he had to destroy himself for it, then so be it. He could do this. 

_ I can do this!  _

* * *

Gajeel could admit that this Exceed was one of the toughest opponents he’d had in a while. 

He’d been pinned, his iron skin being the only thing that kept the sword from taking his head off. 

He was drained. He’d known he probably couldn’t win against someone who was functioning at a hundred percent, but he’d just needed to slow the Exceed down, give Natsu enough time to make it through at least  _ some _ of the lacrima. 

Speaking of which, what was taking him  _ so damn long?  _

“I told you this was a bad idea,” the Exceed said. 

Gajeel snarled as he scrabbled at the sword, trying to push it away from his throat. “You really think this is worth it? Killin’ so many people, just so this damned garbage heap can have magic for a little while longer?” 

“It’s not my decision,” the Exceed said. “The king has commanded it.” 

Gajeel scoffed. “That sure is some blind loyalty, you’ve got there, ya stupid fucking cat. You know that you’re gonna die up here, too, right? The second this fucking island hits Exatlia, we’re all  _ dead.”  _

The Exceed stiffened. “Hits Extalia?” 

Gajeel almost laughed. Had he really not known that? That was fucking  _ hilarious! _ “Yeah, hits Extalia,” he grinned. “You Exceeds are becoming magic right alongside the rest of us.”

The sword shook in his grip as he took a step backwards, finally allowed Gajeel to stand back up. “But… the king…” 

“Is a jackass, from what I’ve heard,” Gajeel said as he rolled his shoulders. Damn, he really hated getting pinned like that. “But hey, you wanna throw your life away for him, that’s up to you.” 

“I have to warn them,” he said. But before he could take off, the entire island shuddered, and then it started  _ moving.  _

Right towards Extalia. 

“Oh hell,” Gajeel said. He gave the Exceed one last look. “Like I said, do whatever the hell you want. But I’m helping my little brother save  _ everyone.”  _

He stumbled towards the lacrima. 

* * *

Natsu felt as the island shook and began to move. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time left. He had to  _ hurry!  _

Flames flickered across his body as the magic became too much for it to contain. Every muscle in him ached beneath the pressure of it. 

_ This is it, _ he thought.  _ As soon as I release it… That’s it. I’ll save everyone.  _

_ And become even less human.  _

Gajeel shouted his name as he approached, but Natsu just had to hope he had the sense to stay back, or at least turn his skin to iron. If he broke concentration to tell him to stay back, he’d lose the tiny grip he had on this magic. 

Finally, he couldn’t pull in and build the energy any more. His body was ready to  _ burst.  _

With a pained roar, Natsu forced the magic out, let it explode around him. Fire hotter than the flames of hell raged over the lacrima. 

Natsu clung to the crystal as he forced more and more magic from his body, willing the flames hotter, and to spread further over the lacrima. 

His vision began to darken at the edges. His body grew weaker and weaker as he forced more magic to obey him. 

And finally,  _ finally, _ the crystal melted beneath his hands. 

* * *

Lisanna watched in awe as the giant lacrima above the city went up in flames. 

She knew he was powerful, knew what he could do, but it still amazed her. She’d never seen a fire more beautiful and powerful than Natsu’s. 

Levy had no idea what was going on. She fell to her knees, too disoriented to keep her balance. Around her, the rest of her guildmates did the same. 

“What’s going on?” Cana demanded. “Where the  _ fuck _ are we?” 

Levy forced herself up. She really wished she'd worn her leg brace today. Whatever happened made her shaky. She stumbled forward, but rather than hitting the ground this time, someone caught her. “Hey, careful there, Shrimp.” 

“Gajeel?” Levy looked up to find him grinning at her. 

“Glad y’er still kickin’ around,” he said as he steadied her. 

“What’s going on?” she asked, glancing around to see her guildmates creeping towards the edge of the _moving, _ _ floating island _ they stood on. 

He sighed.  _ “A lot. _ But I think we’re real close to gettin’ it figured out. We just gotta count on Mystogan to do his thing, now.” 

“Natsu? Natsu!” Mirajane exclaimed. 

Levy peered around Gajeel just in time to see Natsu collapse, falling face first onto the ground. 

“Fuck.” Gajeel sprinted towards his brother, leaving Levy struggling to keep up. 

She kneeled next to Mirajane who rolled Natsu onto his back. “Natsu?” she asked. 

“Heh…” He forced a smile. “‘M fine…” he said. “Just… Need a minute.” 

He was very obviously  _ not _ fine. He was paler than Levy had ever seen, covered in a sickly sheen of sweat, and shivering so violently his teeth chattered. 

“How much magic did you  _ use?” _ Gajeel demanded. 

“Hey, I got… everyone out… didn’t… I…” His eyes rolled back into his head, and he went limp in Mirajane’s grip, though his body still shook. 

Gajeel let out a distressed whine as he grabbed his brother, holding his limp form against his chest. “Natsu? Come on. You’re fine. You’re  _ fine.”  _

His head slumped backwards, his mouth falling open to let out a little puff of smoke. 

Cautiously, Levy checked for his pulse, relieved to find one, but worried by how erratic it was, and how cold his skin had become. “We need to get him to Wendy,” she said. “I don’t know what he did, but this could be shock from using so much magic.” 

“I don’t know where Wendy is,” Gajeel said, still refusing to let go of Natsu, despite Mirajane’s coaxing. “And I don’t even know if she’s okay either…” 

As if things couldn’t get any worse or more confusing, the island began to fall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Edolas arc is coming to a close. As much as I enjoyed it (and am having fun writing its last chapter), I am super excited for Tenrou Island


	32. Hellos and Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail returns from Edolas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! A double update! I had a bunch of free time today so I decided to go ahead and write and post two chapters!

Erza wasn’t quite sure what he did to accomplish it, but as she stared out the window, she couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful the magic leaving Edolas was. 

“You ready?” Mystogan asked. “We need to do this fast, if it’s going to work. It won’t be long before you and the rest of Fairy Tail get pulled up with it.” 

Erza gave him a wry smile. 

* * *

Around Lisanna, everyone panicked. Actually, she seemed to be the only one  _ not _ panicking. 

All over the city, lacrimas and magic items broke, crumbling to pieces without magic holding them together. The energy was being sucked up into the sky, in arcs of gorgeous glowing light. 

Beside her, Dragion and Lucy gaped. “What the hell is going on?” Lucy demanded. 

The floating islands crashed to the ground around them. 

There was no doubt about it. 

Edolas was losing its magic. 

* * *

“Natsu!!!” Happy yowled as he dropped out of the sky. “The Exceeds wouldn’t listen to us, and now their island is falling!” 

The cat landed next to Mirajane, and he gasped when he saw Gajeel clutching Natsu’s body. “What’s wrong with him?” he asked, voice shaking. 

Mirajane shook her head. “We’re not sure. We think he might have used too much magic at once, but something isn’t right.” 

She’d seen wizards who had over exerted their magic powers. Hell, it wasn’t that long ago Lucy had done it to save Loke, and she hadn’t been like this. Sure, she’d passed out, but she didn’t look like  _ death.  _

Around her, the guild did their best to keep level heads, but between the confusion about what was going on, and the steadily falling island they were on, they were one move away from a full blown panic. 

“Can you take him to Wendy?” Gajeel suddenly asked, thrusting Natsu’s body towards the cat. “Please.” 

Happy nodded, and had Gajeel maneuver Natsu around so that he could get a better grip on him. “I’ll get him to her as fast as I can, I promise. Come on, Charle!” he shouted. “Come help me find Wendy!” 

* * *

Wendy couldn’t say she was prepared for Happy and Charle to drop an unconscious Natsu at her feet. “Something’s wrong with him!” Happy said, his fur puffed up with distress. “No one can get him to wake up!” 

Wendy fell to her knees next to her brother, and did everything she could to tune out the chaos around her. She checked him for injuries, but found nothing. “You don’t have any idea what happened?” she asked, growing more worried by the second. Without an injury to treat, there was nothing she could do. 

“Mirajane said something about him using too much magic,” Charle said. “Perhaps he simply exhausted himself.” 

Wendy frowned. This looked  _ worse _ than simple exhaustion, but if it was really because he had used too much magic at once, at least she could do something about that. 

She focused her magic on giving him energy, a little boost to wake him up. It wouldn’t get him back to a hundred percent, that would have to happen naturally, but hopefully this could help some. 

After a few minutes of restoring basic energy, Natsu’s eyes snapped open and he gasped. “Wendy?” His voice was rough, and quiet. She had to strain to hear him. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” she said. “Are you okay?” 

“Never better,” he muttered as he sat up. 

“Hey, woah, take it easy,” she urged. She still wasn’t completely sure what had happened, but she doubted he needed to be up and moving so soon. 

“Natsu!” Happy leaped into his arms. “Everyone was freaking out! You looked really bad!” 

Wendy had to stop herself from saying he  _ still _ looked bad. He looked like a _ corpse. _

“I’ll be fine,” he assured the Exceed. “Promise.” 

* * *

Erza had to stop herself from laughing as she performed her little sparring match with Mystogan. He really was laying it on thick. 

“You imposter!” he shouted as he punched her. “You killed our beloved Erza Knightwalker and then stole magic from our world! How  _ could _ you!?” 

The watching civilians gasped as she landed her own hit on Mystogan. “You don’t deserve magic! Magic is for people like  _ me!”  _ she shouted, making sure to use her scariest glare (the one she gave Natsu and Gray when they fought). 

Mystogan kicked her legs out from underneath her and pinned her to the roof they fought on. “I wish Fairy Tail all the best,” he whispered, quiet enough that the audience wouldn’t hear. 

Erza smiled sadly. She might not have known Mystogan well, but she would miss him. Even in just the short amount of time they’d spent together, he’d proven he was a good person, and she knew he would help Edolas get back on its feet. “We’ll miss you, Mystogan. I hope you have a good life.” 

He feigned another hit, and she screamed, an annoying, high-pitched noise. 

With that final blow, Erza felt her body go weightless, pulled into the sky by the reverse-anima. For good measure, she put on a show of screaming and writhing. She saw the other Fairy Tail mages being lifted into the sky as well, along with the Exceeds. 

She smiled at Mystogan, as he grew further and further away. 

_ Yeah, he’ll do just fine.  _

* * *

Lisanna knew that staying behind was no longer an option when she saw Gray get sucked into the sky with the rest of the magic. Her own body began to glow with that yellow light, and she knew she would be returning to Earthland whether she wanted to or not. 

As she floated into the sky, holding onto Mirajane and Elfman’s hands for dear life, Mirajane said, “It’s okay, Lisanna. We know. We always did.” 

“What?” she asked, blinking away the tears in her eyes. 

“You know, your real siblings probably miss you very much,” she said. “And you don’t have to feel sorry for us. Look at all the extra time we got with you.” 

Lisanna slipped from their grip, and she called out one final “Goodbye,” before she was pulled away from Edolas for forever. 

* * *

Natsu was sure he might have enjoyed floating through the sky and back through the anima, had his body not felt like it was tearing itself apart. 

He knew what overusing his magic felt like. He’d done it too many times to count, honestly. It made him tired, and maybe a little sore and disoriented, but it didn’t do  _ this. _

His insides felt like they were being torn to shreds, his bones shattered, his blood was boiling. 

But he had to hide it, and assure everyone that he was okay. At least for now, at least until everything was settled down. 

As soon as they landed back in Earthland, he collapsed, face first into the mud. The cool rain felt amazing on his burning skin, and he could have laid there for  _ hours, _ had Gray not landed next to him and pulled him up. “You look  _ terrible,” _ he said. 

“I’m fine,” Natsu gasped, desperately trying to keep the pain out of his voice. 

Gray didn’t look like he believed him, but he didn’t press. 

Around them, more and more Fairy Tail mages appeared, along with the Exceeds. 

Natsu was dangerously close to passing out again, so he missed most of the explanation of why the Exceeds had come to Earthland, how they were involved with the king’s plan, and why Charle thought they were meant to find dragon slayers. The only reason he was even still upright was because Gray kept him that way. 

“I think we should get you to Porlyusica,” Gray muttered quietly. 

Natsu shook his head. “Not until… everyone else is okay.” 

“I think  _ you’re _ the only one not okay right now,” he argued. 

Before Natsu could snap back a retort, one of the Exceeds, what had his name been, Natsu knew he’d introduced himself…  _ Pantherlily!  _ Yeah, Pantherlily tugged a girl out of the bushes, her hands wrapped in ropes. “She did not appear to be with you,” he said. “So I assumed she was an enemy.” 

Natsu’s eyes widened, and momentarily, his pain was forgotten. He took a shaky step forward. “Lis…” 

“You must be Lisanna’s counterpart,” Erza interrupted. “Why did you end up here?” Though her voice was firm, Natsu could tell she was shaken. 

“I…” Lisanna took a deep breath. “I  _ am _ Lisanna.  _ Your _ Lisanna.” 

Shock and confusion settled over the Fairy Tail mages. “That’s impossible,” Cana finally said as she stepped forward. “Our Lisanna is  _ dead.” _

Wendy shook her head. “No, she is our Lisanna. We met her in Edolas, and I’ve suspected for a while.”

Lisanna’s eyes widened. “How did you know?” 

“You knew about dragon slayers’ motion sickness before we told you,” she said. “And you knew Natsu liked spicy food.” 

Finally shaking himself out of Gray’s hold, Natsu staggered towards her.  _ This is Lisanna. Lisanna is  _ alive! Why hadn’t she told him? Why had she kept this a secret? Did she think they didn’t miss her? “Lisanna, it’s really you?” he whispered. 

She nodded, tears in her eyes. 

Unable to stop himself, with the last bit of energy he had, Natsu tackled her, knocking them both to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. “You’re alive,” he sobbed. “You’re  _ alive.”  _ He rubbed his cheek against her, drinking in her scent. 

God, how had he not  _ recognized  _ it? It wasn’t different, not like the rest of the Edolas counterparts. Perhaps he’d just been worried he was making it up. 

Lisanna hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his chest. “I missed you. I missed you  _ so much. _ When you showed up like that… I didn’t know what to do. I thought I’d gone crazy for a minute.” 

He laughed through the tears. “How do you think I felt?” 

As he held her close, closer than he  _ ever _ thought he’d be able to again, a soft purr escaped him. She laughed and tugged him closer. 

“L-Lisanna? It’s… really you?” 

Natsu’s eyes widened and he forced himself back. He had to remember, he wasn’t the only one who had lost her. 

He forced himself back to his feet, and Erza quickly grabbed him to keep him from collapsing. 

Mirajane and Elfman stared at Lisanna, hopeful tears in their eyes. 

* * *

Mirajane didn’t know what to think. She hadn’t thought she would  _ ever _ see her little sister again. 

And yet here she was, right in front of her. 

“Big sis Mira,” Lisanna whispered. “Big brother Elf…” She pushed herself off the muddy ground and leapt at her siblings, smiling brighter than the sun. 

Mirajane sobbed as she caught her, holding her tightly, determined to  _ never _ let her go again. Elfman grabbed both of them, crying louder than both the girls combined. 

They were together again, and nothing could be better than that. 

* * *

Erza felt like her heart was about to burst as she watched Mirajane and Elfman lead Lisanna away, looking happier than she had seen either of them in  _ years.  _

She couldn’t even imagine how relieved and overjoyed Mirajane must feel right now. It was practically a miracle. 

And not only was Lisanna alive, everyone had gotten out of Edolas unscathed, more or less. 

Natsu was looking a little rough, but she was sure he could be fixed up in no time after a quick visit to Porlyusica’s. 

She held the dragon slayer closer, doing her best to keep him from face planting into the mud. He was already gross enough. 

The Master began getting everyone organized as they left the woods to get back to Magnolia. The majority of the guild needed to be informed of what exactly had happened, and they probably needed to fix the guildhall. 

According to Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu, it’d been a bit of a mess after the anima struck. 

At some point, she also needed to talk to the Master about Mystogan, tell him who he really was, if he didn’t already know, and tell him that he’d stayed behind in Edolas. 

But that could all wait. Right now, all she really wanted to do was to get out of Knightwalker’s damned armor, take a bath, eat a decent meal, then go to  _ bed.  _ She was  _ exhausted.  _

“Come on, Natsu,” she said, gently dragging him forward. “We need to get back to Magnolia.” 

Natsu stiffened in her hold as he winced. A high, pained noise escaped him as his body spasmed. 

“Natsu?” she demanded, holding him tighter. “What’s wrong?” 

He jerked in her hold, and surprised, she dropped him. He curled up on the ground, and began to shake violently. 

“Natsu!” Wendy exclaimed, rushing forward. “You have to tell me what’s wrong, or I can’t help you!” 

Weakly, he pushed her away. He tried to stand back up, but he just collapsed again. His breathing deepened, turning into frantic panting. “Wrong…” he forced out. “Something’s  _ wrong!”  _

_ Obviously! _ Erza almost snapped, but she restrained herself. That wasn’t going to help anybody, least of all Natsu. 

“Pick him up!” the Master commanded. “We need to get him to Porlyusica!” 

Gray and Erza picked him up, as gently as possible. “Try and stay calm, Natsu,” she said. “We’ll get this figured out.” 

He grit his teeth, and threw his head back, his body jerking again. Erza just barely managed to keep a hold of him. 

And then he  _ screamed.  _

That time, Erza  _ did _ drop him as she reflexively covered her ears with her hands. Gray did the same thing, leaving Natsu to collapse onto the ground again. 

His screaming turned ragged and feral as his back arched. Whatever this was… something was  _ very wrong.  _ This wasn’t from over exhausting his magic. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she muttered as she picked him up again, doing her best to ignore the screams of pain. “You’re going to be okay. I promise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah fuck, what did I do now?


	33. Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu faces the consequences of using so much magic, Juvia and Levy take care of Wendy, and Lucy, Cana, and Loke finally get themselves sorted out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing every part of this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it

Wendy could only stare as Gray and Erza carried her writhing brother away. She tried to chase after them, but Levy gently grabbed her shoulder and shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to see that,” she said. 

“But—”

“She’s right, Wendy,” Gajeel said, surprisingly calm. “I’ll come get you if he needs you, okay?” He rubbed the top of her head as he walked by. “Keep an eye on her, Shrimp.” Then he followed after Gray and Erza. 

“Come on,” Levy said. “Let’s go back to Magnolia. If you stand out in this rain for much longer, you’ll end up with a cold.” She gave Wendy a little nudge, trying to get her to follow. 

“Miss Levy…” she whispered. Her gaze drifted towards the muddy ground and she bunched up handfuls of her dress. “Is it finally happening? Is he…” She tried to ignore the lump in her throat and the tears building in her eyes. “He’s gonna transform, isn’t he?” 

She felt Levy sigh. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Wendy. But… it doesn’t look good. Gajeel said he used a lot of magic.” 

She nodded, then turned and latched herself around Levy’s waist. The script mage gently combed her fingers through her hair and rubbed her back. “I’m sure they’re doing all they can. They’re not gonna let this happen without a fight.” 

* * *

The guildhall was thankfully in one piece, somehow restored when the reverse-anima brought them back. Cana trudged inside, and sat in her usual spot, not even bothering to dry off. She listened to the steady  _ drip drip _ of the water falling from her hair and clothes. 

God she wanted a drink, but Mirajane was off reuniting with her dead sister. 

Don’t get her wrong, she was thrilled Lisanna was alive, but… she could really use a drink after that, and she still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. Slowly, the rest of the guild members trickled in, most of them going home to at least change clothes first. 

“Hey, what’s got you looking so down?” Loke appeared on the opposite side of the bar. 

She glanced up at him. “It’s still weird seeing you in suits. And the sunglasses? Really? You look like a jackass. Also where were  _ you _ when all of this was going down?” 

“Wow, okay.” He pouted at her. “I think I look good like this.” Then he sighed. “And I was in the celestial spirit realm. Lucy didn’t summon me, and time is different there. I didn’t even know anything was going on, or I would have tried to help.” 

She grunted. “Whatever.” 

“Seriously. What’s bothering you?” he asked. 

“I’m sober,” she snapped. 

Loke turned away and a few seconds later slammed a drink down in front of her. “There. That problem’s solved. Now spill. I know you pretty well, Cana. Something’s eating at you.” 

She sighed. “I don’t know. I shouldn’t even be pissed over it, I just… I feel left out.” 

From the look on his face, he hadn’t been expecting that. “What do you mean?”

She took a sip of her booze, then finally leaned back and wrung out her hair, caring nothing for the puddle that formed on the floor beneath her stool. “I’m always left out of the loop. It’s always Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Except now they drag along Wendy and Gajeel. Mirajane’s never far behind, and neither is Levy. Now even Juvia is around more than me. I just don’t get it.” She propped her elbows on the bar and rested her chin in her hands. “I grew up with them. I’ve been around for  _ years! _ How come they never include me? Even now… No one would tell me what happened to Natsu! I’m fucking worried about him and no one would even fucking  _ explain!”  _

Loke frowned. “Have you ever considered… it’s because you’ve never acted like you  _ wanted _ them to include you?” 

She glared at him. “The fuck does that mean?” It wasn’t like she spent time with anyone else! She didn’t exactly have  _ friends. _ She had Loke, and now Lucy. That was it. 

“I hate to be the one to break this to you,” he said. “But you kinda just drink and party, and do enough work to pay rent. You don’t ask to go on quests with them, and other than inviting them over to drink, you don’t spend time with them. Maybe they assume  _ you _ don’t want to spend time with  _ them. _ I mean, have you ever actually asked Natsu if he was okay since this whole thing started?” 

She stared into her booze. God, she couldn’t handle being sober and talking about these things. Now she felt bad. “Really?” She thought she was doing good to invite them over to drink! They always seemed to enjoy it, anyways. 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just saying that might have something to do with it. You’ll have to talk to them if you want to know.” 

“Nah,” she said. “Think I’ll just drink.” 

Loke sighed, but didn’t press the topic anymore. 

* * *

It look longer than it should have with all of Natsu’s thrashing and writhing, but eventually, they got him to Porlyusica’s. 

He’d tired himself out, and did little more than moan and cry out, occasionally twitching in Gray’s hold. “God, if you die, Natsu, I’ll kill you,” Gray hissed in his ear. “This is not how you go out, understand me?” 

If Natsu heard him, he didn’t show it. But then again, Gray wasn’t sure he could even lift his head up if he wanted to. 

Porlyusica eyed them with disdain when they opened her door. “Seriously?” 

“It’s serious, Porlyusica,” Erza said. “Something’s… something’s  _ very _ wrong.” 

The healer took one look at Natsu dangling between them and motioned for them to come inside. “Lay him on the couch over there, and tell me what happened.” 

“We don’t know,” Erza said. “He just collapsed and started screaming and thrashing around. He looked a little rough before then, but he insisted he was fine.” 

Porlyusica frowned. “That doesn’t give me much to go on.” 

Erza sighed as she and Gray laid him down. She didn’t know what else to tell her. 

“He overused his magic,” Gajeel said. “He used a  _ ridiculous _ amount. I’ve never seen him use that much damn fire before.” 

Porlyusica’s eyebrows pinched together as she examined Natsu. “You’re sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m fucking sure!” Gajeel snapped, finally losing his cool. “What the hell is wrong with my little brother!?” 

The healer glared at him, but thankfully didn’t yell back. “His magical energy is spiking, in very irregular bursts.” 

“What does that mean?” Gray asked, trying not to notice how Natsu had grown even paler, and now that he wasn’t struggling, almost looked  _ dead. _

“You really needed to bring him here for me to tell you this has something to do with the dragon mess he’s in?” she asked as she backed away from him. 

Gray’s heart sank. Of course, he’d suspected that was probably what this was, he just didn’t want to admit it. “Can’t you do anything for him?” There had to be  _ something. _

Porlyusica shook her head. “Not really, no. I can give him a painkiller, since I suspect intense pain is what caused him to pass out. But he’s going to have to fight through whatever this is himself.” 

Erza let out a choked sob as she fell against the wall. “The last thing we did was fight. If he… What if…” 

“Hey!” Gray grabbed her shoulders. “He’s not gonna fucking die. He’s  _ not. _ Right, Gajeel?” 

Gajeel just stared at his brother with wide eyes. “Porlyusica…” he said, voice devoid of emotion. “Is there any way you can tell how fast he’s changin’? What  _ is _ changin’?” 

“Perhaps,” the healer said. 

“Do it.” 

“Gajeel?” Erza shrugged Gray away. “What do you think is going on?” 

The iron dragon slayer sighed. “He was complaining about his back, worried he was gonna grow wings.” 

“Oh my god,” Gray muttered.  _ Wings?  _ No wonder he was screaming so damn much. That’d have to  _ hurt.  _

Porlyusica shuffled through her cabinets and pulled out a potion. She then began tapping Natsu’s cheek. “I need you to wake up so you can swallow this. Trust me, you’re going to want it if your brother is right.” 

Natsu’s eyes flickered open, and he moaned. 

Before he could pass back out, Porlyusica pried his mouth open and dumped the potion in. Natsu spluttered, but he swallowed most of it. “That’s the strongest painkiller I have. Now help me roll him over so I can look at his back.” 

Gray rolled Natsu onto his back for her, and pulled off the tattered remains of the Edolas armor he wore. 

Porlyusica ran her hands down his back, then began to prod at his spine and shoulder blades. 

Natsu’s eyes snapped back open and he cried out in pain. “Stop!” he gasped.  _ “Stop!”  _

Porlyusica pulled her hand back. 

“Natsu.” Erza fell to her knees beside the couch. “What’s wrong?” 

He grit his teeth. “Hurts. My back…” 

“It feels swollen,” Porlyusica said,  _ gently _ laying her hand on his back again. “Especially around the shoulder blades. And the bones are protruding. The way his magic energy is spiking, I’d say they’re going to appear, or grow, or however exactly this works, within the next few hours.” 

“But just the wings?” Erza asked. “Nothing else?” 

“I can’t say for sure, but I think that’s it,” she said. 

Gray let out a sigh of relief. So at least they weren’t in  _ actual dragon _ crisis mode yet. But… this was still pretty bad. 

“My scarf…” Natsu suddenly muttered. “I left it in Edolas…” Weakly, he rubbed at his neck, as if searching for the garment. 

“Oh!” Gray had forgotten about Natsu’s scarf. He’d found it in the storage rooms, while looking for Edolas Fairy Tail’s magic items. He pulled it out of the inside of his jacket. “I found it, and figured you wouldn’t want it left there.” He laid it on the couch next to his head. “Sorry. It probably smells like me.” 

With no small amount of effort, Natsu grabbed the scarf and shoved it into his face. “Thank… you…” 

“Yeah, no problem.” Gray knew it was some kind of comfort thing for the dragon slayer. A reminder of his father, something he’d had for years. It was important to him. So when he saw it in that storage room, he couldn’t just leave it there. He wondered how Knightwalker had even got it off him in the first place. 

His pained whimpers filled the cabin. At least the pain killer had made whatever pain he was in bearable enough that he wasn’t screaming anymore. 

Erza ran her hands through his hair. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” 

* * *

Levy and Juvia did their best to keep Wendy distracted. They took her out for food, then brought her back to Juvia’s room at Fairy Hills, played games with her. 

Juvia didn’t think it was working. 

She wasn’t  _ entirely _ sure what was going on (she didn’t think Levy really knew everything either), but she’d heard the way Natsu screamed, so it wasn’t hard to figure out what had Wendy so upset. 

Even as they played  _ go fish, _ silent tears ran down the smallest dragon slayer’s cheeks. So Juvia decided to do whatever she could to distract her. “You know…” she said. “When we first met, Gajeel tried to ask me out on a date.” 

That got Wendy  _ and _ Levy’s attention.  _ “What?” _ they both demanded. 

“Mmhm.” Juvia nodded as she rearranged her hand of cards. “Said I was ‘Fuckin hot’ and he wanted to ‘show me a fuckin’ good time.’” 

Levy gasped, dropped her cards, and slammed her hands over Wendy’s ears. “Juvia! You can’t talk like that around little kids.” 

She frowned. “Why not?” 

Wendy shook Levy’s hands away. “I hear worse than that every day from Natsu and Gajeel. I  _ live _ with them.” 

“See,” Juvia said. “It’s fine.” 

Levy sighed, but let it go. “Did you go out with him?” 

She laughed and shook her head. “No, no. I told him we could be friends.” 

“And he just… left it at that?” Levy asked. 

She nodded. “Yep! I said I didn’t date, but that we could be friends, and he said ‘guess that works too. I’m just lonely.’” She laughed. “He was very drunk.” 

Wendy giggled. “Gajeel gets funny when he’s drunk.” 

“Oh, definitely!” Juvia agreed. “Another time, he cried over a flower he accidentally stepped on. He gave it to me, all messed up, and told me he didn’t mean to hurt it.” 

Wendy’s giggling turned into full blown laughter. 

“He also loves cats. He used to feed the strays outside of Phantom Lord, and he’d beat people up if they tried to chase them off,” she continued. “You know, he was actually talking to that little black Exceed while everyone was distracted by that Lisanna girl. He told him he wanted a cat partner like his siblings, and he should come back with Happy and Charle after they got the Exceeds settled in somewhere.” 

“Oh, that would be great!” Wendy exclaimed. “Sometimes Happy and Charle run off, so they’re not around when we leave for quests and then they get mad at us when we come back. Maybe another Exceed would help them feel not so left out.” 

“Maybe.” Juvia ruffled her hair. “Now. Do you have any sevens?” 

“Awww,” Wendy whined. “You knew I did!” 

Juvia noticed Levy’s incredulous look, and she winked at her. Gajeel was a grumpy asshole most of the time, so she knew how to cheer people up. Be it big scary dragon slayers, or little tiny ones. 

Levy just smiled. 

* * *

Lucy sat next to Cana at the bar. “Loke? Why are you bartending?” 

He shrugged. “Mirajane’s catching up with her little sis and Cana was bitching so I decided to do it.” 

“Oh. Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like something. Surprise me,” she said. “I’m so tired of almost dying every other day. And this time I didn’t even  _ know _ I was on the brink of death! You know they were gonna turn us into freaking magic energy?” 

Cana sighed. “Is that what it was this time?” 

“Yep.” 

Loke set down a cup of booze, and Lucy took a sip. It wasn’t as good as Mirajane’s drinks, but it was alright. 

“So…” Loke said as he leaned across the bar. “I hear you two have been having sex, so when do I get to join in?” 

Lucy coughed and booze shot out her nose. 

Loke and Cana both roared with laughter. 

“It’s not funny!” she said, clapping her hand over her mouth and nose. “It  _ burns! _ And you can’t just  _ say _ things like that!” 

Loke cocked his head. “Why not? We need to get this kind of thing sorted out. We’re sharing a girlfriend, you know.” 

Lucy turned to Cana. “We’re  _ girlfriends?” _

Cana gave her a look. “Well what the fuck did you think we were?” 

“I don’t know! We never had that conversation!” She threw her arms in the air. “And does that mean you two are officially back together again?” She glanced between Cana and Loke. 

“Oh yeah,” Loke said, waving her off. “We got that sorted out the other night. We’re dating again. And you’re dating Cana, so we’re sharing a girlfriend.” 

“Uh huh…” This was still very strange to her. Not necessarily in a  _ bad _ way, but strange, nonetheless. “I’m okay with that.” 

“Right,” he said. “So what about me? I hope I’m not being too forward, but I like you.” 

“That’s the  _ least _ forward thing you’ve ever said,” she muttered. 

“And from context clues, I think you like me too.” He grinned at her. “You  _ did _ risk your life to save me, after all.” 

“That wasn’t—I would have done that for anyone,” she argued. “But… I guess you’re not wrong, about… liking you.” 

Loke snickered and fist bumped Cana. “We did it. We both landed the hot new girl.”

_ “But _ ,” Lucy said, before they got too into… whatever this was. “I’ve never tried anything like this before, so… I’m gonna take it slow, okay?” 

“Yeah, sure, that’s fine,” Cana said. “Figured as much anyways.” 

Loke nodded. 

“Okay.” Lucy smiled. “So I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend now.” 

_ “Officially,”  _ Cana laughed. 

“Yeah,” Lucy agreed. “Officially.”

* * *

Erza watched Gajeel pace the length of Porlyusica’s cabin. It was all she could do. Natsu was barely clinging to consciousness, still twitching and crying out in pain, and Gajeel’s frantic pacing was the only distraction to be found. 

Porlyusica had left the cabin a little over an hour ago, under the guise of going out to find herbs, but Erza knew it was because she didn’t want to be around them. She wasn’t heartless enough to make them leave with Natsu like this though, which she was thankful for. 

Gray had gone back to the guildhall (well, been  _ sent, _ and he hadn’t been happy about it), to inform the Master of what was going on, as well as provide some context for what exactly had happened in Edolas. 

“Erza?” Natsu whispered. 

She grabbed his hand, and twisted against the couch to look at him. “Yeah, what is it?” His fingers were limp in her grasp. 

“‘M sorry…” He screwed his eyes shut as another wave of pain went through him. 

“What the hell are you sorry for?” she demanded. 

“Jellal…” he said. “I was… bein’ an ass. You were right…” 

“Hey.” She gave his hand a light squeeze. “No, I wasn’t. I… I get it, Natsu. I get why you were so mad. When I realized what Knightwalker did to you… I wanted to kill her. I  _ did _ kill her. And I understand why you hate Jellal so much. So  _ I’m _ sorry. I get it now.” 

“Heh… think we were both wrong,” he said, forcing his eyes open again. “But… if Jellal is half as good… as Mystogan, he deserves another shot.” 

Erza smiled. “Thank you.” 

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, then his jaws snapped shut and his body seized up. “Natsu?” she asked. 

He clawed at the couch cushions, tearing deep gouges in them. 

Something cracked, and Natsu  _ screamed.  _

Erza jumped up. “Gajeel!” 

Gajeel bounded over in time to see Natsu’s spine push grotesquely against his skin, watch it  _ shift. _ He shoved his face into the cushions in an attempt to muffle his screaming. 

Erza and Gajeel could only watch with wide eyes as Natsu’s muscles and bones moved in unnatural ways beneath his skin. Erza grabbed his hand, and did her best to ignore how hard he squeezed it, or the way his claws dug into her skin. 

She nearly retched when his back finally split open with a  _ disgusting _ tearing noise. Blood, and what she assumed was puss, leaked from the two massive tears running down the length of his back. 

“Fuck,  _ fuck!” _ Gajeel ran his hand through Natsu’s hair. “You’re fine. You’ll be okay.” 

Bones and muscle grew from the tears, attaching to his shoulders and back. After that, it became a little more bearable to watch, though not by much. The bones grew out to form the skeleton for a massive pair of wings, and thick strands of muscle, ligaments, and blood vessels weren’t far behind. 

Natsu squeezed Erza’s hand so tight she became concerned he might  _ break _ it. 

Finally, rust red scales crawled over the wings, and it  _ stopped.  _ It finally fucking  _ stopped.  _ Natsu’s body went limp, and he let go of Erza’s hand. Even the new pair of wings went limp, flopping across the back of the couch and the floor awkwardly. It couldn’t be comfortable. 

“Natsu?” Gajeel asked as he kneeled down so he could look him in the eye. “How are you doing? You awake?” 

He groaned. “Think so… Back feels funny… Heavy…” 

Gajeel eyed the wings with disdain. “Yeah… Can you feel them? Move them?” 

A few seconds later, the wings twitched. “Yeah, think so….” he muttered. “Think I’m gonna… take a nap though…” 

He passed out. 

“Holy  _ shit,” _ Gajeel said as he got back to his feet. “What the  _ fuck _ was that!?” 

Erza just shook her head. “I… I don’t…” That was  _ horrifying, _ and she had just been watching. She couldn’t imagine how much that must have hurt. “Let’s get him cleaned up,” she said. “Get the blood and puss off.” 

“Yeah…” Gajeel said. 

As he went off to find some towels, Erza could only stare at her best friend. 

_ How much longer does he have left?  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on having a couple cool down chapters, that will bring Gildarts in, and I'm playing with having a Zeref centric one (not sure yet though), and then I'll be starting the Tenrou Island arc


	34. A Glimmer of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu adjusts to his wings, Jellal and Erza talk, and Gildarts returns to Fairy Tail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are soooooo many POVs in this chapter, but oh well. I think it turned out okay

Natsu was unconscious for about four hours. During that time, Gajeel really didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how much pain he would be in when he woke up, or how to help him adjust to a new body part. 

That… and he really didn’t want to think about going through that himself. His back hadn’t been bothering him, but unless they came up with some dragon blood somehow, it was only a matter of time. 

Natsu groaned and cracked his eyes open. “Gajeel? Erza?” 

“Hey, man,” Gajeel said. “How ya feeling?” 

“Uh… weird,” he said. “Sore.” 

“Can you sit up?” Erza asked. 

It took a moment, and with no small amount of cracking bones, but Natsu managed to maneuver his wings around and get into a sitting position. “This is so fucking weird,” he said. He grabbed at one of his wings, but jerked back as soon as he touched it. “I can feel that.” 

“Well…” Erza frowned. “They  _ are _ a part of you.” 

The wings folded up behind his back and he pushed himself off the couch, only to stumble forward. Erza just barely managed to catch him. “Are you dizzy?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “No. I’m fine.” 

But as soon as she let go, he stumbled again. 

“Okay,” Gajeel said as he caught him. “Something’s up. You  _ sure _ you don’t feel dizzy?” 

“No!” Natsu protested. “I feel fine.” 

“His center of balance has likely shifted to accommodate for the wings,” Porlyusica said. 

All three of them jumped. “Jesus Christ lady, make a little more noise when you come in!” Gajeel snapped. 

“Why? You are the ones in my house,” she said. “And now that Natsu is fine, you can leave.” 

“He can’t walk!” Erza protested. 

“Like I said, his center of balance has changed,” she said. “He’s just going to have to get used to it. Now get out. I’ve put up with enough of you Fairy Tail bastards for a lifetime.” 

* * *

Gajeel helped Natsu shuffle home, while Erza went back to the guildhall. 

It was slow going, and it didn’t help that Natsu was stubborn and kept trying to get Gajeel to let go of him, which just led to him falling. 

“Be honest, are you really okay?” Gajeel asked. 

Natsu sighed. “I’m fine. Told you. My back’s just a little sore.” 

“That’s not what I meant,” he said. 

Natsu’s wing thumped against his back, and Gajeel had no idea if it was an accident or not. But all he did was grin and say, “‘Course I’m fine! I’m alive, and so is everyone else!” 

Gajeel knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere, so he let the subject drop. 

* * *

“So… How is he?” Gray dared to ask after Erza got done with her report to the Master. 

“Well, he’s alive, I guess. The wings have thrown off his balance though, and he’s not happy about that,” she said as she sat down at their usual table.

Gray frowned. “So… he’s really got… wings…” 

“Yeah.” Erza didn’t look like she could quite believe it either. 

“We’re not gonna find dragon blood in time to help him, are we?” It wasn’t really even a question. At first, Levy’s news of a cure had been so great, amazing even. They’d all gotten a little high on it and believed that he was going to be fine. 

But really…. It wouldn’t help. Dragons just didn’t exist anymore, no matter how hard they tried to convince themselves otherwise. 

Gray had gotten lucky. He’d found a way to stop his demon blood. 

He only wished he could have done the same for Natsu. 

Ever so slowly, Erza shook her head. “No… We’re not…” She didn’t sound sad about it, but then again, Gray hadn’t either. He supposed that they really had given up a long time ago. They’d resigned Natsu to his fate, almost as readily as the dragon slayer had himself. 

“Well now what?” he asked. They had to do  _ something. _

She let out a weary sigh. “I guess we just do what he asked us to. Take care of Wendy. She has Gajeel now, which is good, but… She’ll probably need more than him to adjust to not being around him constantly.” 

“It’s not fair,” Gray said, having to restrain himself from punching the table. “Stupid fucking magic…. It’s not  _ goddamn fair.”  _

“No,” Erza said. “It’s not.” 

* * *

The cell that he considered home now… really wasn’t all that bad. The bed (cot, whatever it was), was comfortable enough, he got three meals a day. It could definitely be much worse. 

Getting sucked into an alternate world was a surprise. 

He actually hadn’t known what was going on when he woke up on a giant floating island after supposedly being turned into a lacrima. 

The only reason he even knew what went on was the explanation Erza had just finished. “Thought you might like to know what exactly that was,” she said. 

“Oh, well thank you,” he said. “I was a little confused.” 

She chuckled. “I’d be more concerned if you weren’t.” She leaned her head against the opposite wall, and pulled one knee towards her chest, leaving her other leg splayed across the floor. 

Jellal still didn’t understand why this woman cared about him so much. He’d pieced together what he’d done to her from bits of conversations he’d overheard, and he just didn’t  _ get it. _ He’d been so awful to her… and here she was, explaining Edolas to him just so he wouldn’t feel left out. 

Not only that, she looked very  _ sad _ today. 

She’d come to visit him a few times since he’d been put in this cell, just to chat for a while, and because he didn’t have anything to talk about, he mostly just listened to her. She talked about her day, her friends, things she’d done. 

But today, aside from her explanation, she didn’t talk. She just sat there, staring off into space. 

“Erza, are you okay?” he asked.

“Huh?” Her focus snapped back to him. 

“Are you okay? Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but you seem… upset,” he said, leaning closer to the bars that separated them. 

She sighed. “I’m okay. It’s just been a rough couple of days.” 

“Because of Edolas?” he asked. 

She grimaced. “Among other things.” 

“I’m sorry.” He wanted to help her. He didn’t know  _ why _ he wanted to help her so much. He didn’t think it was guilt (though that was probably a  _ part _ of it). Something in him was loyal to her, cared about her. Could it possibly be lingering memories from who he was before? 

He wasn’t sure if that thrilled him or scared him. 

He wanted to  _ know _ things, but he didn’t want to become the horrible person he had once been. 

“I wish I could help somehow,” he said. 

“Oh, there’s nothing to be done,” she said. “That’s part of the problem. I appreciate it though.” She ran her hand through her hair, and offered him a small smile. 

Whether there was nothing he could do for her or not, that did nothing to quell how much he wanted to help her. 

* * *

Gajeel came to get Wendy from Juvia and Levy the next morning. He looked exhausted, but considering he’d been up all night dealing with… whatever had been going on with Natsu, it was to be expected. 

“Is he okay?” Wendy demanded as soon as he showed up at Juvia’s room at Fairy Hills. 

He shrugged. “He’s alive, but exhausted, and having a little trouble adjusting.” 

Wendy fell to her knees, sobbing. 

“Woah, woah, Wendy, what’s wrong?” Gajeel kneeled down and tried to get her back on her feet. 

“H-He… He turned—turned in-into… into a—a-a  _ dragon?” _ she forced out between sobs, followed by a high pitched wail. Her brother was a  _ dragon.  _ That was it. They couldn’t help him anymore. 

She couldn’t go on quests with him anymore. She couldn’t cuddle with him anymore. He couldn’t teach her how to fight anymore. 

“Oh, oh  _ no,  _ no, Wendy,” Gajeel said through sad laughter. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. He has wings now, but he’s not a dragon.” 

She looked up at him through the tears. “Really?” 

He nodded. “Really.” 

“Oh my god, Gajeel,” Levy said. “You had me worried, too! That was horrible phrasing!” She leaned over Wendy to whack his shoulder. “Don’t say things like that!” 

He shot back to his feet. “I didn’t mean to!” 

Levy crossed her arms. “Well whatever. Take Wendy to go see him. She’s been very worried.” 

Juvia nodded. “Yes, Gajeel. You must remember to take better care of children. I learned from Levy that you’re not meant to swear around them.” 

“Fuck off, Ju. I’ll swear around my kid sister all I fuckin’ want,” he snapped. 

_ “Gajeel!” _ Levy scolded, going to cover Wendy’s ears again. 

He waved her off and pulled Wendy to her feet. “Come on, brat. I’m sure Natsu wants to see you, too.” 

* * *

Wendy gasped when she and Gajeel got home and discovered Natsu face down on the floor, with a giant pair of wings splayed out around him. They had to span at least twelve feet! They covered almost the entire width of the living room! 

Gajeel sighed. “Natsu, what are you doin’ on the floor?” 

Natsu grunted. “Tried to get to the kitchen. Fell over. Just decided to stay here.” 

Wendy ran over and sat down next to his head, crossing her legs. “You have wings!” Cautiously, she reached her hand out. “Am I allowed to touch them?” 

He lifted his head to smile at her. “‘Course you can!” He shifted his wing, bumping it against her hand before she could reach out again. 

She squeaked, and gently ran her fingers down the scales. They were a little rough to the touch, and warm. It twitched a little beneath her hand, but not much, so she placed her whole palm on the wing, softly dragging it down. 

Natsu started laughing. “Wendy! That tickles!” 

She didn’t laugh and pulled her hand away. “Are you really okay?”

His smile faded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

He didn’t look fine. He hadn’t in a while, but Wendy knew he wasn’t going to admit that. All she could hope was that he confided in Gray or Erza at some point. She knew he acted for her, but she was getting too old to fall for it. 

Natsu hadn’t noticed yet. 

“Alright, get off the floor,” Gajeel said as he kicked at Natsu. “Or I’m gonna start walkin’ all over you.” 

Natsu growled at him but forced himself up. He wobbled, but he managed to make it over to the couch without falling over. 

“Before I snagged Wendy,” Gajeel said. “Mirajane caught me, Erza told her what happened. She wants to start teachin’ you how to handle your wings.” 

“Oh, most of Miss Mirajane’s takeover forms have wings. I bet she’s great at it!” Wendy exclaimed. 

Natsu rolled his shoulders, causing his wings to shift with the movement. “Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever helps.” 

Wendy sat on the couch next to him. “It’s kinda cool,” she said. “Flying, I mean. Have you tried yet?” 

“Gajeel wouldn’t let me,” Natsu said with a glare at their brother. 

“You can’t even walk, man,” he said. 

“They’re completely different ways of moving!” he argued. 

Wendy giggled. “Maybe Gajeel’s right. You should probably wait on Miss Mirajane to help you.” 

He sniffed. “Yeah, whatever. Maybe.” He wrapped his wing around Wendy and tugged her closer. It reminded her of sleeping covered by Grandine’s wing, even if it was on a much smaller scale. “I’m gonna take a nap,” he yawned.

Just like that, he slumped against the back of the couch. 

“Damn, I wish I could fall asleep as fast as him,” Gajeel said as he shuffled towards his room, probably to go to sleep as well. 

Wendy had slept a little at Juvia’s, but not a whole lot, so she snuggled against Natsu’s side and drifted off. 

* * *

Loke couldn’t help but stare when Natsu showed up at the guildhall the next morning, and he wasn’t the only one. Even those who had heard about what happened were astounded. 

“Holy hell,” Cana said. “I know they’ve been on about this dragon shit for a hot minute now, but  _ holy hell!”  _

Well, it seemed he’d finally found a way to distract from his  _ very _ pink hair. The giant pair of bright red wings was the perfect distraction. 

He didn’t seem to mind the stares (if he even noticed them, and Loke wasn’t sure he had). He moved slowly, his movements jerky and unsteady, but other than that, he acted like nothing had changed. 

He came in with a bright smile, Wendy and Gajeel on his heels, and sat with Erza and Gray at their usual place. 

“Am I the only one who thinks they’re kind of hot?” Cana asked. 

“Oh my god,” Lucy muttered, turning back to her breakfast. 

Loke smirked. “Nah, you’re not the only one.” 

Lucy groaned. “You two are so weird.” 

“But who decided she wanted to date us?” he asked.

_ “You guys are dating!?”  _ Mirajane appeared, seemingly summoned by the words. “Yes! Finally!” 

Cana rolled her eyes. “Mira, stop being weird. Yes, we are dating.” 

Mirajane squealed. “You guys are  _ so cute _ together!” 

“You haven’t even seen us doing dating things,” Loke said. “We’re all just sitting here eating breakfast.” 

The takeover mage waved them off. “Yeah, yeah, still adorable. Now I just need to get Gray and Juvia together. Oh, and find Natsu a girlfriend.” 

Cana smirked, and ignored Lucy’s plead to not go there, and said, “Oh? Is he not dating Lisanna?” 

Mirajane’s eyes widened. “Well… Um… You see…” 

Loke and Cana exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. “Don’t want your sweet little sister dating the crazy-ass dragon slayer?” Cana asked. 

She frowned. “No! No, that’s not it at all! I just—” 

Loke shook his head and continued to laugh. “It’s alright, Mira. Everyone’s protective of little sisters. It’s kinda cute.” 

Mirajane pouted. “You’re all so mean.” 

“What did I do?” Lucy demanded. “Don’t loop me in with them!”

Before Mirajane could reply, loud bells began to ring. 

Cana grimaced. “Great. He’s back.” 

* * *

“Gildarts is back!” Natsu exclaimed, jumping up from the table, wings flaring with excitement and smacking Gray. 

“Watch where you’re waving those things!” he barked, shoving the wing away. 

Erza chuckled. She was worried Natsu would be upset over the wings, but he’d taken them in stride, even if he was having a bit of trouble adjusting to them. It wasn’t the first time in the past hour that he’d hit someone with them. 

“How long’s it been this time?” Gray asked, shoving Natsu’s wing down, only for it to pop back up and whack him in the face again. 

“Oh, several years. Natsu?” He had grown close with Gildarts when they were kids, so he had probably paid more attention to how long he’d been gone. 

But he wasn’t paying attention. He was already scrambling towards the open doors where Gildarts stood. Gajeel and Wendy chased after him to keep him from tumbling over. 

Erza didn’t miss Gildarts’ shock when he saw Natsu, but he recovered quickly, and threw him into the wall after he clumsily tried to attack him. 

“Well,” Gray said. “At least he’s having a good time.” 

* * *

Natsu didn’t know what Gildarts wanted to tell him, but at least he’d sorted his balance out enough that he could stumble to his house without help. It’d taken a bit to convince Wendy and Gajeel to let him go on his own, but he’d managed it. 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Natsu asked after he got to Gildarts’ house. 

The man frowned. “Well, first off… what happened to you, kid? I know I’ve been gone for a while, but… that’s a pretty drastic change.” 

Natsu subconsciously curled his wings around himself, like he wanted to hide. He’d managed to ignore everyone’s stares in the guildhall, but it was so much worse one on one. “Yeah… turns out dragon slayer magic turns the person who uses it into a dragon.” 

Gildarts hummed. “And I thought my magic had some drawbacks.” But he just patted Natsu’s shoulder. “I’m sure the guild will get something figured out for you.” 

Natsu didn’t tell him they already had, but it wouldn’t work in time for him. 

“How about you and Lisanna? You finally get the courage to ask that pretty young lady out?” he asked. 

Natsu rubbed the back of his head. “Actually… we thought she was dead for three years. Just found out a few days ago she wasn’t. So uh… no, I never asked her out.” Did he want to ask her out? He’d been asking himself that a lot ever since they found out she was alive, and he still couldn’t figure out the answer. 

“How…” Gildarts started. 

“Trust me, it’s a long story. Was that all you wanted to talk about?” he asked, finally managing to force his wings to relax again. He was still having trouble getting them to do exactly what he wanted most of the time. 

He shook his head. “No. I just thought you should know, that I met a dragon.” 

Natsu’s eyes widened. “A… A dragon?” He didn’t dare to hope, not even after Gildarts had said so. A  _ dragon! _ “Where?” he demanded as he grabbed his shoulders. “You have to tell me where!” 

“Now hang on a minute,” Gildarts said. “You can’t go after this dragon.” 

“No!” Natsu shook his shoulders. “You don’t understand! I have to! I  _ have  _ to!” This could be the last chance to save what little humanity he had left. 

“Natsu,  _ no!” _ he shouted, pulling out of his hold. “I told you because you had a right to know, but this dragon ain’t like the one that raised you, and I doubt it knows—”

He fell backwards after losing something to hold onto. “You don’t understand! That dragon’s the last chance I have!” he shouted. 

Gildarts pulled him back up. “What the hell are you talking about?” He sat him down at the little kitchen table. “Calm down and explain.” 

Natsu sighed and rested his head on the dusty table. “Dragon blood can keep me from turnin’ into a dragon, but we couldn’t find any. I gave up. But if… If that dragon’s still there, we could get some! I wouldn’t have to… I would be  _ okay!” _

Gildarts sighed and sat across the table from him. He pulled back his cloak to reveal missing limbs and thick bandages. “This is what that dragon did to me. It’s not gonna help you. Fuck, Natsu, I wish it would, but it  _ won’t.” _

“But—” 

Gildarts rubbed his head. “I’m sorry, kid. Really, I am. But all going after that dragon would do is get you and your friends killed. Speakin’ of… who was that big punk guy with all the piercings with Wendy?” 

“Ah, that’s my brother, Gajeel,” he said. 

“Oh, so you finally found him?” 

He lifted his head from the table and nodded. “Good thing, too. He can look after Wendy after I’m… After I… you know…” 

Gildarts grimaced, but didn’t reply. 

* * *

Levy was very surprised when Gildarts approached her in the guildhall’s library that evening. He didn’t really seem like the  _ reading  _ type. “Miss McGarden, I’ve been told you're the leading expert on draconic transformations.” 

Her heart sank. “I’m sorry, I know you’re close with Natsu, but I can’t find another way to help him aside from the dragon blood.” She’d been looking, for both alternatives and any indication of living dragons, but she’d found nothing. 

He shook his head. “No, no. I know you’re doing the best that you can, but…  _ if _ a small amount of dragon blood was received, would there be some way to replicate it until you had enough to fix him?” 

She frowned. “Well… probably. I’m sure there’s a spell for replicating things somewhere that wouldn’t be too hard to learn, but… why?” 

“I didn’t land many hits against that dragon, but  _ one _ managed to draw blood,” he said. He set a little patch of fabric down on the table. “It’s dried up, but I know it’s not my blood. I can sense the magic of a non-human creature in it. Now, can you make more?” 

With shaking fingers, Levy picked up the fabric, staring at the bloodstain on it. It would take work, a lot of work, but it could be done. 

_ They had dragon blood!  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really cutting it close with that one, but you thought I was actually going to turn Natsu into a dragon? Nah


	35. Dragon Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia talks with Jellal, and Levy shares the good news about the dragon blood

Juvia knew this was a bad idea. 

She didn’t know why, exactly, she was doing this. But… She needed answers, and he might be one of the only people who could give them to her. 

It’d been gnawing at her ever since he’d been brought back to the guild, but then the Edolas fiasco had happened, and she’d been momentarily distracted, but now she had the chance. 

The chance to ask Jellal about Zeref. 

She knew he supposedly didn’t remember anything, but she had to  _ try.  _ She hadn’t forgotten about Natsu’s frantic screaming for the black wizard. Not to mention Gray’s demonic heritage. Something in her told her that Zeref had some connection to Fairy Tail. She had no idea how, or why, but that name kept finding its way to the guild. It  _ had _ to mean something. 

It was late, and most of the guild members had gone home, making it all too easy to slip down to the cells without anyone noticing. 

“Excuse me, Jellal?” she said. 

The man’s head snapped up, and his eyes looked nothing like the eyes of the man who had cut Gray’s eye out. “Who are you?” 

Juvia clasped her hands behind her back. “My name is Juvia. And I want to know about Zeref.” 

He nodded. “The dark wizard I tried to resurrect.” 

“You remember?” she demanded, stepping closer to the bars. 

He sighed. “No, I do not. But I have heard about what I did.” 

Her shoulders slumped. She had feared as much. “Do you know  _ anything _ about him?”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Juvia.” 

She hummed, and thought hard about her next question. Was this really a good idea? Did she really want to know? “What… do you think about Natsu?” 

Jellal frowned. “The one with pink hair?” 

She nodded. 

“He seems very protective of Erza,” he said. 

Juvia narrowed her eyes. Well that was useless.  _ Everyone _ knew that. 

Then Jellal frowned, and his eyes grew hazy. “But there’s something… something about him… It’s dangerous. I don’t know how I know, or what it is… but there’s something dark in him.” He shook his head, as if trying to shake the bad thoughts away. His eyes cleared again. “Sorry, what did you ask?” 

Juvia’s eyes widened and she took a hasty step back from the cell. “Don’t tell anyone I came and talked to you.” She turned and sprinted away from the cell, trying to outrun the chill that’d settled in her bones. 

Once again, the question plagued her mind.  _ What _ was Natsu Dragneel? 

* * *

“Mira!” Natsu whined. “This is stupid!” 

Mirajane sighed, her patience beginning to wear thin. Of course, she knew what she’d signed up for when she decided to teach Natsu how to handle his wings, but it was another thing to actually  _ deal _ with him. 

“Natsu,” she said, being sure to keep her voice sweet. “Building up your back muscles and learning how to move with the wings has to be done before you can fly. There’s no way around it.” 

He moaned, but continued the stretches she told him to do. 

Beside her, Lisanna giggled. “He really hasn’t changed all that much, has he?” 

As she watched Natsu attempted to fight  _ his own wing _ for not moving the way he wanted, Mirajane was inclined to agree. 

* * *

“Gajeel!” Levy grabbed his hand and tugged him after her. “I need you to come with me!” 

“Hey, woah, hold up, Shrimp!” He pulled his hand out of her grip. “The hell are you on about?” 

Levy peered around Gajeel to smile at Wendy, who waved at her. “Not around Wendy,” she muttered, quiet enough that only Gajeel would hear. 

He frowned and knitted his eyebrows together, but nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay, brat?” 

She nodded. 

“Don’t eat my food!” he called as they walked away. Then he turned to Levy. “What’s wrong? Why can’t Wendy hear?” 

Levy twisted her hair around her finger. “I don’t want to get her hopes up. Or Natsu’s. So I need you to check something for me.” 

It’d been a week since Gildarts had given her that little piece of fabric, and she’d been working non-stop to extract the blood from the cloth, revert it so that it was actually a liquid, and then replicate it so that she had several gallons of it. It’d taken  _ a lot  _ of weird, obscure spells. 

But before she went around spreading the news, she wanted someone to check it to make sure it was  _ actually _ dragon blood, and that all the magic she had used on it hadn’t diluted it or turned it into something completely different. 

So she dragged Gajeel towards her room at Fairy Hills where she’d been working on the blood in secret. She hadn’t told  _ anyone _ about it. 

“Seriously, what’s this about?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you this excited by something.” 

He could tell she was excited? Whoops. She’d really been trying to tone it down just in case she’d done it wrong. “If,  _ if, _ I managed to do this right, I’ve got a way to keep you human.” 

Gajeel’s eyes widened. “How? Levy,  _ how?”  _ She could tell he was trying not to let himself hope either, but was failing miserably. 

She gestured for him to hurry up. “Gildarts fought a dragon, and brought me a little bit of blood. I had to work with it, use all kinds of spells on it, so I need you to check and be sure it  _ is _ still dragon blood. And if it is… That’s it! We did it!” 

Gajeel sprinted towards Fairy Hills, leaving Levy struggling to keep up. Her leg had gotten better over the weeks, but she still had no hope of keeping up with him. When he realized she couldn’t keep up, he slowed down, albeit reluctantly. 

As soon as they got there and she unlocked the door to her room, Gajeel barreled inside. “Woah…” 

“Ah, yeah…” Levy rubbed the back of her head. “It’s a bit of a mess.” Books covered pretty much every available surface, including the floor, along with pens and quills. Not to mention the table shoved against the back wall that was covered in jars and beakers of, what was hopefully, dragon blood. 

“That it?” Gajeel asked. 

Levy nodded. 

Hesitantly, worried that this last bit of hope might be shattered, Gajeel picked up one of the smallest vials of the deep red liquid. He flicked the lid off with his claws, then sniffed at it. 

Levy held her breath. 

Gajeel’s face lit up. “That’s dragon alright.” 

Before she realized what she was doing, Levy leaped forward and hugged Gajeel. “I did it!” she exclaimed. “I  _ did _ it! You’ll all be okay now!” 

He stiffened in her hold, and she jumped backwards. “S-Sorry, I just got excited.” She felt her cheeks flush, though she couldn’t tell you  _ why _ they did. 

He shook his head. “Nah, y’er fine, Shrimp. Just surprised me is all.” Gently, he set the vial down. “You made all this from some dried blood?”

She nodded. 

“Holy fuck, you’re some kind of genius!” He leaned down to examine more of the glass bottles. “How much of this did ya make?” 

“Oh, it was nothing,” she said. She was sure anyone could have done it, given enough research time. “And I wanted to make sure there was plenty, for you three, and if you manage to find your missing brothers, so I made ten gallons.” 

Gajeel nodded. “Thank you, Levy.  _ Thank you.”  _

* * *

Wendy broke down crying when she heard the news, but that didn’t surprise Levy. What  _ did _ surprise her, were  _ Natsu’s  _ tears. 

He grabbed her and pressed his face into the crook of her neck, and  _ sobbed. _ “Thank you, Levy. I-I-I thought that was it for me… I didn’t think…  _ Thank you.” _

It was a little awkward to hug him back around the wings, but she managed. “You’re welcome. Be sure you thank Gildarts too, though. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything if he hadn’t gotten me that little bit of dragon blood to begin with.”

He nodded and held her tighter. 

“Come on,” she said. “Someone needs to get Porlyusica so we can do this. I can’t imagine you want to wait any longer.” 

Natsu laughed. “Absolutely not.” 

* * *

“Hey, Luce.” Loke appeared on the couch next to her. 

Lucy jumped. “Jesus Christ, don’t  _ do _ shit like that!” He was going to take at least ten years off her life if he kept doing that. 

Loke laughed. “Yeah, yeah. But listen. Remember those Oracion Seis guys that got arrested a couple weeks ago?” 

She frowned. “Yeah, what about them?” 

“Well one of them was a celestial spirit wizard, and her keys were taken away and her contracts dissolved,” he said. “There’s not really very many celestial spirit wizards around anymore, so her spirits asked me if I knew anyone who might take them on, and I thought who better than my  _ lovely _ girlfriend.” He leaned over to lay his head on her shoulder. 

“Wait, you want me to make contracts with her spirits?” 

“Yep!” 

She shrugged, causing Loke to huff when the movement dislodged him. “Sure, why not?” 

* * *

Porlyusica had them clear out the guildhall’s infirmary, since she  _ did not _ want three dragon slayers recovering from surgery in her cabin. 

Erza and Juvia had helped Levy move the blood from her room, so now there was lovely shelf stocked full of dragon blood in the infirmary. 

Gajeel had requested they replace his blood first, just in case something went wrong, so Natsu and Wendy didn’t end up worse off. Natsu tried to argue, but Gajeel refused to listen. 

Erza just hoped this worked. If it didn’t, that was  _ it. _ There was quite literally nothing else to try. 

Porlyusica had given Gajeel a sleeping draught, then chased everyone out except Levy and Wendy, who were going to assist. 

Erza wasn’t queasy. Far from it. Her life simply had not allowed her to dislike blood and gore. But when she listened to them describe how they were going to bleed Gajeel dry, have Wendy use healing magic to keep him alive while Porlyusica fused the dragon blood to the inside of his bones… She couldn’t help but feel a little sick. 

While Wendy went through the surgery, Levy and Freed were going to have to write stasis enchantments in lieu of her healing magic.

Erza kept telling herself that Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy were going to be knocked out, so they wouldn’t feel it, but she still couldn’t help but think about how much it would hurt. 

“And I thought  _ my _ solution was bloody,” Gray said. 

“Huh?” Erza glanced over, snapped out of her thoughts. 

He shrugged. “The bonding spell me and Juvia did. We had to mix our blood to make it work and I thought  _ that _ sucked. This is disgusting though. I’m pretty sure Bisca puked when you and Levy carried those jars of blood through the guildhall.” 

“Wait…” Natsu leaned across the table. “What are they doin’ with our old blood?” 

“Huh… I don’t know. Didn’t think about it,” Erza said. “Can you pour blood down a drain?” 

“Why can’t you?” Gray asked. “It’s just a liquid.” 

“No!” Natsu protested. “Don’t just throw my blood down a drain! You gotta do something cool with it!” 

“Like what?” Erza and Gray asked together. 

Natsu frowned, thinking, then said, “Well I don’t know, something better than pouring it down a drain!” 

Cana leaned over the divide between tables. “Fake a crime scene. Make a painting with it. Store it in the freezer as a momento.” She settled back into her seat before any of them could reply. 

“Yeah!” Natsu said. “Do one of those things!” 

“Absolutely not,” Gray said. 

Erza hummed. “I don’t know. The painting could be fun.” 

Gray just shook his head. 

* * *

About an hour later, Wendy bounded out of the infirmary. “It worked!” she exclaimed. “Miss Porlyusica said he’ll be asleep for a couple more hours, but he’s okay!” 

Erza let out a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but imagine one wrong move that ended with Gajeel bleeding out. It had seemed like a possibility, given what they were doing. 

“It means our bodies won’t have any adverse reactions to the dragon blood!” she continued. “It really, actually  _ worked. _ Gajeel will stay human now!” She bounced up and down, squealing. 

Gray ruffled her hair. “Thank god. I don’t know how I would have handled three giant lizards running around.” 

Wendy giggled and shoved his hand away. “Come on, Natsu, it’s your turn.” 

Erza gave his hand a little squeeze. “Good luck.” 

He grinned. “Oh, I’ll be fine.” 

* * *

Natsu had never been put to sleep with magic or drugs before. He wondered if it would make the nightmares better or worse. 

* * *

_ “Zeref! Zeref, wait for me!” Natsu called, laughing as he raced to catch up with his big brother.  _

_ “Come on, we’re going to be late for dinner!” Zeref said over his shoulder, motioning for Natsu to hurry up.  _

_ They’d gone into the forest to play that day, even though their parents had warned them not to. There had been dragons sighted in the area, and they needed to be careful, stay close to the village.  _

_ Of course, they hadn’t listened. It was much more fun to play in the forest than in the village. Besides, they knew the dragons would  _ never _ come here. Why would they? There was nothing for them out here. Surely they had better things to do than destroy tiny little villages.  _

_ They were wrong.  _

* * *

_ Zeref had tried to stop him from running into the burning village, had done everything he could to pull Natsu back into the safety of the trees.  _

_ But he had to make sure their parents were okay! They couldn’t just leave them to burn!  _

_ The dragons responsible for the destruction still circled overhead, breathing columns of fire hotter than the brimstone of hell.  _

_ “Natsu!” Zeref screamed. “Natsu, please!” His pleas faded the further Natsu ran into the village.  _

_ He couldn’t see. The smoke was too thick, and the fire burned so brightly it blinded him. His throat and lungs burned. Were you supposed to breathe smoke in? He didn’t think you were.  _

_ “Mom!” he shouted. “Dad!”  _

_ Nothing could be heard over the roar of the flames and the collapsing houses. There might have been others screaming, but Natsu had no idea. He was practically blind and deaf.  _

_ More buildings collapsed. Crumbling wood and molten stone fell on top of him. He screamed as the flames seared his skin.  _

_ He didn’t know how long he was pinned beneath the debris,  _ burning  _ and  _ screaming.  _ Everything began to go dark, and the pain started to fade.  _

_ Shaky hands shoved the wreckage away. “Natsu!” someone coughed. “Natsu, please! Open your eyes.” They grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the fire. They dragged him through the village, their coughing and wheezing just barely able to be heard over the flames.  _

_ Finally they stopped, dropping him, and laying down beside him, trying to steady their own breathing. “Natsu?”  _

_ It took everything he had, but Natsu managed to force his eyes open. “Zer...ef?”  _

_ His brother nodded and forced himself up. “You’re alive!”  _

_ “I… can’t move…” he murmured. “I can’t… feel…” It almost felt like his body was  _ gone. _ It didn’t hurt, he couldn’t feel the ground beneath him, or the air around him.  _

_ Tears cut lines in the smoke stains on Zeref’s face. “No,” he whimpered. “No, I got you out! You’re fine! You’re okay!”  _

_ “Mom… and dad…?” he asked, his eyes threatening to slide closed again.  _

_ Zeref took a shaky breath. “I’m sure they’ll be okay.”  _

_ Natsu was pretty sure he was lying, but he didn’t say anything. “Everything’s going… dark…”  _

_ He saw Zeref touch his face, but he didn’t  _ feel _ it. “It’s okay. You’ll wake up soon.”  _

_ “Don’t wanna… leave you alone…” His eyes slid shut.  _

_ “It’s okay… I’ll get you back soon.”  _

_ The last thing Natsu heard was a soft whisper, so faint he thought he might have imagined it.  _

_ “I promise.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing fantasy because science literally doesn't exist I can just be like "Oh it was magic" imagine having to come up with scientific explanations that must be so EXHAUSTING


	36. When Things Go Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail gets back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically 90% fluff, but let's be real, everyone kinda needs that at the moment.

Natsu woke up with a jerk. “I remember!” 

Erza leaned over him. “Remember what?” 

“That I… Zeref…” He shook his head, confused. “I’m… not sure….” He’d had it! Just for a second, and he felt it had been important, but it was gone, leaving an irritatingly empty spot in his memories in its place. 

“Probably another nightmare,” Erza said, holding him in place as he tried to get up. “Maybe you’ll be able to start remembering them soon. And you need to stay down.” 

“Why?” he whined. 

Erza gave him a  _ look. _ “You just had a surgery.  _ All _ your blood was replaced.” 

He sat up despite her pushing and cocked his head. “I feel fine though.” And he did! Nothing hurt. At all! He felt perfectly normal,  _ good _ , even. And thanks to his time in Edolas, he recognized the strange, good feeling. His body wasn’t changing. It’d stopped. 

He grinned. “Trust me! I feel amazing!” 

“Told ‘em the same damn thing,” Gajeel said in the bed next to him. “But they’re all like  _ ‘Oh,  _ we gotta make sure you don’t drop  _ dead.’ _ As if,” he snorted. 

Juvia smacked him upside the head. “Lady Porlyusica said you had to stay in the infirmary for at least a day. So that’s what you’re going to do.” 

Gajeel glared at her and rubbed his head. 

“Wendy?” Natsu asked. 

“She’s still asleep,” Erza said as she pointed to the bed on his other side. “She’s a lot smaller, so it’ll take some more time for that sleeping draught to wear off, but she’s okay.” 

He nodded. They were all okay now. They didn’t have to worry about using too much of their magic. He could start going on actual quests again, and get his life back to _normal. _

He stared down at his hand, at the claws that adorned his fingertips. He wished they could have found a way to stop it before this happened, though. He looked like a freak! It wasn’t like he could hide claws, or the scales on his face, or fucking  _ wings. _

“Hey.” Erza took his hand, and ran her thumb over the claws. “This doesn’t matter. You’re still human.” 

“But—”

She shook her head. “No. You  _ are. _ In the ways that matter.” She moved on to the scales around his face, gently running her fingers down them. “This doesn’t  _ matter. _ You were always a dragon slayer, right? Proud to be Igneel’s son? Well, now you look the part.” 

He smiled. “Thanks, Erza.” 

* * *

“So they found a way to stop dragonification.” 

Igneel rested his head on his feet. “Good.” 

Grandine frowned. “This was not the plan, Igneel. Acnologia can only be defeated by another dragon.  _ Humans _ don’t stand a chance.” 

“Maybe not four hundred years ago,” he said. “But times have changed now.” 

Gradine scoffed. “Oh they have? Did you miss how the  _ most powerful wizard _ in Fiore’s  _ most powerful guild _ was torn to pieces by that monster?” 

Igneel sighed. “No, I did not. But he was alone.” 

“You grew too attached to the boy,” she said.

“Are you to say that you don’t care for your daughter?” he questioned. 

Grandine snarled. “You  _ know _ that is not what I meant. But yes, I accepted that we must place the wellbeing of the world over the wellbeing of our children. Igneel, do you not understand what they’ve  _ done? _ They have filled themselves with  _ Acnologia’s blood. _ They  _ will _ meet him in battle one day, and with feeble human bodies now. They will not survive.” 

“Yes, I am aware.” He  _ wasn’t _ thrilled by that turn of events, and he had a feeling that move  _ would _ bite them in the ass later down the road, but there was nothing to be done about it now. “They never  _ agreed _ to become dragons, so they had the right to stop such a process.” 

“It does nothing to change the fact that  _ dragons _ are needed to defeat Acnologia,” she continued to argue. 

“Oh I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps they’re dragons in all the ways that matter.” 

* * *

Happy and Charle, returned to the guildhall, with Pantherlily in tow. 

“Woah, Natsu, you look different,” Happy said as he crawled onto Natsu’s chest. “Did you do something to your hair?” 

Wendy giggled and Charle sighed. 

“Look, buddy! I’ve got wings like you now!” Natsu flared his wings to the best of his ability while lying down. 

“Woah…” Happy sniffed at them. “We can go flying together now!” 

“How are the other Exceeds?” Wendy asked Charle, leaving Natsu and Happy to argue about whose wings looked better. 

“They settled in nicely,” she said. “Pantherlily decided to come back with us, since Gajeel offered.” She curled up next to Wendy. “And I spoke to the queen, to ask about why I thought we were meant to bring dragon slayers to Edolas.” 

“Hm?” Honestly, Wendy had forgotten about that part. Everything had just been so hectic. “What did she say?” 

“She said I had a clairvoyance ability. Apparently some Exceeds have that,” she said. “She wanted to start teaching me how to control it, so I don’t just have random flashes, and misinterpret them like I did that time, but I don’t know.” She pressed closer. “I prefer it here and don’t want to spend a whole lot of time with the other Exceeds.” 

Wendy scratched her ears. “I’ll support you either way, but I think you should give it a shot. And you don’t have to spend time with them. Just go for your lessons, and then come right back,” she suggested. 

“Maybe.” 

* * *

As soon as the dragon slayers were cleared from bedrest, the guild partied. 

Lucy had discovered that pretty much every member of Fairy Tail loved to party and the guild threw one every time they had an excuse. And every single party, she was always very concerned that people were going to get horribly injured, die of alcohol poisoning, and destroy the guildhall. 

Tonight was no different.  _ Especially _ since Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy no longer had anything to worry about. If Lucy thought the trio of siblings had been rambunctious before, she truly had seen nothing yet. 

Gajeel was already hammered, and had taken to standing on top of tables and singing. Wendy sat on his shoulders, laughing and singing along with him. He kept trying to hand her drinks, despite being thwarted every time by Levy or Erza, though they were both starting to get a little tipsy themselves, so it was only a matter of time before they missed one. 

Natsu had discovered that the scales on his wings were practically invincible, so he had pretty much every single member launching attacks at him, wanting to see just how invincible they really were. He was laughing like crazy, and had already lit four banners, two tables, and Gray on fire (who Juvia had then put out in a panic). At one point, someone blasted him with a spell so powerful he went flying through the air, colliding with Gajeel and Wendy, which ended with the three of them in a heap on the floor. Natsu and Gajeel then began to fight each other, fire and iron flying, with Wendy cheering them on. They only stopped when Erza got between them after they’d broken the table she’d been sitting at with Mirajane. 

“Wow,” Lucy said. “I know Gajeel’s pretty drunk, but I didn’t think Natsu had anything yet.” 

“Oh no.” Loke shook his head. “He’s completely sober.” 

“....What?” She turned back to the chaos to see Natsu dancing on a table, with Happy bounding in circles around his feet. “You’re kidding, right?” 

“Nope. You got here just in time to see sad Natsu. Now you have to get used to  _ regular _ Natsu,” he said. 

“I need a drink,” she said, dramatically falling across the table. Then she frowned. “Hey, where’s Cana? She lives for this kind of stuff.” 

“Think she’s at home,” Loke said. 

“Huh?” But she’d just been here! They’d been talking about leaving on a job the next morning less than an hour ago. “She’s been kind of… off the last few days, hasn’t she? Or am I just going crazy?” 

Loke sighed. “You’re going to have to ask her about that. I think I know what’s going on, but yeah, think you need to ask her.” 

Lucy didn’t miss the way he glanced at Gildarts, who was knocking back booze with the Master. “Okay…” She had no idea how  _ he _ might be involved, but Loke was right. She needed to talk with Cana, not him. “I’m gonna go see if I can find her,” she said. 

Loke waved. “Have fun.” 

* * *

“Juvia, have you been doing okay?” Gray asked. 

“Hm?” She turned away from watching Evergreen's, Bixlow's, Elfman's, and Gajeel’s drinking game. 

“You’ve been really quiet the past few days,” he said. He frowned. “And… anxious?” 

She sighed. “Oh, no, I’m fine.” 

His frown deepened, and he obviously didn’t believe her. “If you say so…” 

She felt bad about lying to him, especially since he had been paying enough attention to notice something was upsetting her, but she didn’t want to admit she was suspicious of Natsu. Not when he was so close to him. 

But she couldn’t just tell him nothing. “I’ve been worried about Zeref,” she admitted. 

_ “Zeref?”  _ He crossed his arms. “Why? He’s just a legend, ain’t he?” 

She shook her head. “No, he existed. There’s debate on… what he exactly he did and what his powers were, but he was definitely  _ real.”  _

“Alright, well even if he was real, he’s dead now, so what’s it matter?” he asked, as he narrowly dodged someone’s glass flying through the air. “Watch it!” he snapped over his shoulder. 

“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s the issue.” He  _ was _ dead, and she’d been told all her life that his demons were as well. But if that were true… why did she feel so uneasy? And why did Zeref-related issues keep popping up? She knew certain dark guilds wanted to resurrect him, but this wasn’t that. 

_ Why _ did Natsu dream about him? He didn’t even know who Zeref  _ was! _ It didn’t make a damn bit of sense. 

“Think you’re just worked up,” he said. “Maybe you’ve been thinking about your family too much. They dealt with all that, yeah?” 

She hummed. “Maybe.” Visiting her father  _ had _ dug up a lot of old memories, and made her think about all the stories about Zeref and his demons that her mother had told her. 

He nodded. “If it’s really bothering you, you could always go talk to your dad again. Or maybe even the Master. He might know something about Zeref.” 

“No, I think you’re right. Maybe I’m reading too much into things,” she said. At least, she hoped that’s all it was. 

* * *

“Cana!” Lucy exclaimed. She pulled her girlfriend out of the alleyway, disturbing the bottles around her. “What the hell are you doing?” 

“Don’t wanna be at the guildhall…” she slurred. 

_ “What?” _ Lucy shook her head. “Come on. We’re going back to my apartment. You can’t pass out in an alley like that, Cana, it’s dangerous. You  _ know _ that.” 

“Haaah?” She leaned against Lucy. “I was jus’ drinkin.’” 

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Lucy demanded. “I know you like to drink, but usually you can still take care of yourself.” She was worried about her. She’d been upset the past few days, and now  _ this. _ Something was clearly up. 

Cana groaned. “S’not  _ my _ fault… bastard shows up… only talks to Nassu…” 

“Natsu?” Lucy dragged her down the street. “What the hell did he do to you?” 

She shook her head. “Nah, not him, Gildarts.” She began to play with Lucy’s hair. “You got pretty hair.”

She almost groaned. This would be so much easier if Cana was sober. Or at least sober enough to  _ think.  _ “What about Gildarts?” He seemed nice enough, and he obviously wasn’t around often, so Lucy wondered what the man could have done to make Cana upset enough to skip a party like that. She  _ lived _ for parties. 

“He only talks… to  _ Nassu,” _ she said, an angry, but confused, look flitting over her features. 

“So?” she asked. “They’re probably close.” 

_ “Yeah, _ but ‘m his  _ kid!”  _ she exclaimed. 

Lucy nearly dropped her. “I’m sorry,  _ what?”  _

“He’s my  _ daaaaad!” _ she shouted, clinging onto Lucy’s shoulders tighter as she stumbled. “But he likes Nassu more!” 

Lucy frowned. “Wait, he just ignores you like that?” As awful as her own father could be, he never acted like Lucy didn’t exist. Actually, she would almost prefer that to the things he’d done. “That’s terrible.” 

“Nah…” She slumped forward. “He doedn’t even know… didn’t tell ‘im…” 

“Wha— _ Cana!”  _ Lucy bit back a groan, knowing she couldn’t expect her girlfriend to communicate clearly at this point. “So he doesn’t know that he’s your father?” Okay… Lucy supposed she could forgive him then. If he didn’t know, he couldn’t be expected to act like a father. It also explain Cana’s weird moods ever since he’d returned. 

She shook her head. “Nuh uh.” 

Lucy sighed. “You’re not going to remember this tomorrow,” she said. “So as soon as we get to my apartment, you’re going to bed, and we’ll start this conversation over in the morning, okay?” 

Cana booped her nose. “Sounds good, babe.” 

* * *

It was nearing three in the morning, and the guildhall was finally starting to calm down. Mostly because people finally started passing out, but the reasons were unimportant. 

Lisanna had missed this. They could be rowdy in Edolas, but not quite like this. 

Natsu had calmed down as well. Mostly because Wendy had fallen asleep in his lap. He wrapped his wing around her, and ran his hand through her hair. 

“Go talk to him.” 

Lisanna jumped. 

Erza laughed. “You know he wants to talk to you, too, but he thinks you’re mad at him.” 

“Wait, what?” she asked, looking from Natsu to Erza. 

“For turning you in,” she said. “It’s why he hasn’t come talk to you himself. He feels bad, so he’s been avoiding you.” 

“Oh.” Mirajane cocked her head. “I thought it was odd that he hadn’t been coming around, considering how happy he was to see you.” 

Lisanna couldn’t help but stare as Erza leaned on her sister. “I still can’t believe you two are dating. Last I knew, you were beating the hell out of each other.” 

Mirajane giggled. “Oh, that’s how I knew I liked her. She threw me into the wall one day, and I knew she was the one.” She let out a dreamy sigh. 

“Aw, Mira.” Erza kissed her on the cheek. “I felt the same when you broke my wrist.” 

“So weird,” Lisanna muttered, shaking her head. “But I’m not mad at him. He didn’t really have a choice.” 

“That’s why I told you to go talk to him,” Erza said. “It’d make his day. He really did miss you a lot.” 

Mirajane nodded. “He did. Just as much as Elf and I. You should spend some time with him.” 

Lisanna gave her a look. Mirajane had asked several times now if her and Natsu were dating, or had any intentions to date, and she hadn’t believed her when Lisanna said “I don’t know.” She was pretty sure her sister was trying to trick her into saying she was romantically interested in the dragon slayer. “Okay,” she said. She got up, and sat across the table from Natsu. 

“Lis!” he exclaimed, his wings flaring slightly in excitement. He grinned, and it was much more carefree than his smiles had been in Edolas. “How’s bein’ back been? I’ll bet Mira and Elf were happy to see you.” 

“Oh yes, and it was amazing to see them again,” she said. “I’ve missed everyone.” She sighed, and settled against the back of the booth. “There’s a bit to catch up on, and some new faces. But I am glad I’m back.” 

He nodded. “Good.” 

She leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “And just so you know, Natsu. I don’t blame you for what happened in Edolas. You were protecting your brother and sister. Trust me, I understand that.” 

As she spoke, his smile faded. “I… Yeah… I’m sorry…” 

She shook her head. “I just said I don’t blame you. You don’t have to apologize. Besides,” she said. “I would like to  _ officially _ meet that brother of yours. He seems like an… interesting guy.” They both glanced over to see Gajeel leaned across Levy, halfway passed out. Jet and Droy were trying to shove Gajeel off the struggling script mage. 

“Gajeel, get  _ off!”  _ she laughed, pushing at his shoulder. 

“Nah… ya smell nice…” he slurred as he rubbed his chin against Levy’s shoulders and neck. 

Natsu’s eyebrows shot up, and Lisanna remembered him doing something like that to her occasionally. She wondered if it meant something to the dragon slayers. 

Natsu shook his head. “Yeah, sure. He keeps sayin’ he wants to meet the dead chick everyone’s been talking about.” 

She laughed and ran her hand through her hair. Sure, they’d technically met in Edolas, but they hadn’t actually spoken to each other. The iron dragon slayer seemed like an unruly man, though he treated Wendy and Natsu well enough. “Yeah, introduce me to him some time.” 

Natsu smiled and nodded. “Yeah!” Then he grew quiet again, turning his gaze down to Wendy, who was still snuggled up against him. Lisanna remembered leaning on him in much the same way when she was younger. 

“I missed you,” she said. 

Natsu’s head snapped back up. 

“I know I said it when I first got back, but I did. I really, really  _ missed _ you,” she said. “And I know I’ve missed a lot, and I need to catch up, but I’d like us to be friends again.” 

Gently, he nudged Wendy away and laid her on the bench. He pushed himself across the table, until he was almost nose to nose with Lisanna. “Did we stop being friends?” 

She shook her head. “Of course not! Just… It’s been a while, and I’m sure you’ve gotten close with other people.” 

He hummed, and pulled back, sitting down in his seat again. “Just Erza and Gray. And nothing’s changed between us.” He gathered Wendy up into his arms. “I’m gonna get her home. I’ll see you around, alright, Lis? Gajeel!” he shouted. “Leave Levy alone and come on! Unless you wanna sleep on the guildhall floor.” 

“Fuck off, Natsu,” he said. 

Levy, who at some point had managed to escape his grasp, nudged him. “You should probably go, Gajeel. I’m not taking you home later.” 

The iron dragon slayer groaned and forced himself off the floor. He staggered a bit, but tailed after Natsu. “Alright, ‘m sleepin’ on the couch tonight.” 

“Do whatever you want,” Natsu muttered. “I don’t give a damn.”

Lisanna smiled fondly. She was happy he’d finally gotten another member of his family back. 

* * *

Weeks passed, and slowly, things began to return to normal. 

Of course, normal was relative for Fairy Tail, but at least no one was turning into mythical creatures, summoning the Celestial Spirit King, getting sucked into alternate dimensions, et cetera. 

Mirajane would almost say it was boring, but it was never quite boring at the guildhall. 

Lisanna didn’t really go on quests anymore. She assured them it wasn’t because of what had happened on the one that led to them believing she was dead. Apparently she had helped work the bar in Edolas, and she enjoyed it much more than doing job requests. She never had enjoyed fighting, so Mirajane didn’t question her reasons. So, Lisanna joined her behind the bar, and the two sisters served everyone, and helped organize and keep track of job requests. 

It was nice to have help, especially from Lisanna. 

She helped Natsu fully adjust to his wings. It took amount a month for him to get completely used to them, and actually be able to fight. It took another month for him to learn how to decently fly with them. 

He loved it, and often went out flying with Happy. 

He shifted back to his old self, the melancholic energy that had settled around him disappearing as he realized that everything had gone back to normal, and that he was  _ okay.  _

He and Lisanna began spending time with each other again. Perhaps not as much as they had as children, but that was more because they were busy with working, not because they didn’t want to. They even went over to Gildarts’ for dinner occasionally, as the Master hadn’t let the man take another job request until he recovered from the black dragon’s attack. 

Lisanna assured her it was not romantic, and they were just friends, but Mirajane suspected that even if that were true, it might change at some point in the future. 

Lucy, Cana, and Loke had become a three person team. They always went on jobs together. It was amazing. Cana and Loke were actually showing some work ethic. It was totally Lucy’s influence. 

Juvia and Gajeel made it through their probation period, but most of the time, they still went on quests with Natsu’s group. Though, occasionally Gajeel would go on quests with just the black Exceed, Pantherlily. 

Juvia had been readily accepted by the guild, and she was often asked to accompany others on quests, though she always turned down the offers. 

However… Gajeel… Most of the guild was still very wary of him. He didn’t seem to mind, however. And Erza and Gray had begrudgingly befriended him, and even Levy, Lucy, Loke, and Cana spent time with him occasionally. 

Well, everyone  _ did _ get a little pissed off at him when he took Wendy to get her nose pierced. Everyone yelled at him for about an hour about how she was too young for that. Well, except Natsu, who was more upset about not being invited. 

So then Gajeel pierced Natsu’s ears himself with little metal studs. 

Poor Erza nearly had a come apart. When Mirajane pointed out that she had her own ears pierced, she’d shouted, “Yes, but I  _ thought _ about it, Mira! I  _ thought _ about it!” 

Mirajane didn’t tell her that if he hated it in a week he could just take them out and he’d be fine. Erza could learn to be a little less controlling when it came to her friends. 

Gray had gotten back to normal as well. The demonic energy around him had dulled to the point that Mirajane could hardly sense it anymore. He could reliably use his magic again, and the marking seemed to have stopped spreading for good. 

Of course, rumors flew around the news outlets, speculating about just  _ what _ Gray and Natsu were, as they obviously weren’t human. Wild rumors began about how Fairy Tail was actually a non-human guild. It was ridiculous, but the guild had taken it in stride. Cana was actually in the process of convincing the news she was a vampire. 

Jellal still lived in the guildhall’s basement, more or less. He was allowed out of the cell now, with supervision, of course. Most of the time that supervision was Erza. She visited him in the cell at least once a day. She was debating asking the Master if it was okay to bring him along on small stakes jobs occasionally. 

The weeks turned to months, and everyone was doing great. 

Then it was time for the S-Class examination. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, sooooo excited for Tenrou Island! I have so many plans, and I've spent the past couple days getting them sorted out. As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the last arc of this work!


	37. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The competitors for the rank of S-Class are announced, and they work on figuring out partners and strategy. Gajeel comes to some not-so-fun realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered switching who partnered with who, but decided not to because I liked all the weird, different dynamics of the original teams

Erza stood on the stage behind the Master as he announced who the participants for the S-Class examination would be. 

Natsu. Gray. Juvia. Cana. Elfman. Mest. Levy. Freed. 

No surprises there. 

Personally, she thought Natsu and Gray had a leg up on the others, but maybe she was just biased. Cana and Elfman were powerful, but she felt their chances depended on who they partnered with. She didn’t know much about Mest, but he’d done well last year, hadn’t he? Levy was at a slight disadvantage due to her bad leg, but she was definitely much smarter than most of her opponents. Freed and Juvia were both very powerful as well, and didn’t have as many weak spots as some of the others. 

It could go a lot of ways, and Erza decided to wait on placing her bets until everyone had partners. Most of the guild was already throwing around wagers, however. 

Mirajane leaned over to whisper, “Don’t tell Elfman I’m betting against him… but I already bet a thousand on Freed and two thousand on Natsu.” 

Erza laughed. “Mira!” 

* * *

“I still don’t understand why  _ I _ was chosen,” Juvia said. “I haven’t even been here that long!” 

“You’re powerful, though,” Levy said. Then she sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do! I’m not as powerful as  _ any _ of you,  _ and _ I have my bad leg. There’s no way I’m going to win, so someone else should have been given the chance over me.” 

“Aw, Lev, don’t say that,” Mirajane said. “You never know. And you’re a lot smarter than everyone you’re competing against.” 

Levy wasn’t sure that was true, and even if it was, she didn’t think it would be enough. She didn’t know what to do about a partner either. Either Jet or Droy, probably, but that didn’t feel right. 

If she had to fight Mirajane, Erza, or Gildarts, though… It was all over. She’d  _ never _ be able to accomplish that. 

“Juvia!” Lisanna ran over to their table. “Juvia, do you need a partner?” 

Juvia hummed. “Yes, I wasn’t quite sure what to do about that, since Gray is competing as well. I considered asking Gajeel, but I imagine he’s probably going to partner with Natsu.” 

Lisanna nodded. “Let me be your partner! I was actually quite good friends with Juvia in Edolas. I also want to be there to support everyone!” 

“Alright then,” Juvia said. “Sounds like a plan.” 

Lisanna squealed. 

“You know,” Mirajane said. “Elfman’s going to be upset that you didn’t partner with him.” 

Lisanna waved her off. “He’ll figure something out. Besides, if he were smart, he’d pick someone who didn’t have powers so similar to his own.” 

Levy frowned. That was rather clever, choosing someone who had a massively different skillset than your own. It definitely prepared you for a lot more scenarios. So if she went that route when trying to find a partner, she’d want someone with brute strength, a brawler. 

Fairy Tail certainly had its fair share of those, but who to pick… 

“Hey, Shrimp.” Gajeel leaned over the back of the booth and grabbed her. “C’mere.” 

“Wha—Gajeel, put me down!” she exclaimed as he heaved her out of her seat and slung her over his shoulder. 

Sometimes she really hated being so small. 

He only put her down when he got to his own favorite table. He plopped her down and leaned over her. “I wanna be yer partner.” 

She pushed him back. They’d gotten… closer over the past few months, and she’d go so far as to say they might even be friends by this point, and she’d come to learn that dragon slayers had  _ no _ concept of personal space. She’d always thought it was a _Natsu_ thing, but Gajeel had made it abundantly clear it was a  _ dragon slayer _ thing. “You’re too close,” she said. 

He huffed, but backed off. He was good about letting up when she told him to, but  _ only _ when she told him. He didn’t seem to notice how close he was otherwise. “Partner?” he asked again. 

She stared at him. “Why?” Juvia had been right. It made  _ much _ more sense for him to partner with Natsu (and a team of dragon slayers would be near undefeatable). 

“I wanna fight Scarlet. Strauss and that Gildarts bastard would be fun too,” he said. “Wouldn’t be as fun with Natsu. Besides, he’s partnering with that damn cat of his.” 

So he  _ had _ tried to partner with Natsu, she was his second pick. Not that it really mattered, she supposed. He  _ was _ her opposite in almost every way, and was one of Fairy Tail’s best brawlers. His brute strength and raw power might be exactly what she needed to actually give her a fighting chance. “Okay, partners,” she agreed.

He grinned. 

_ “But _ , I’m in charge, okay? You follow my lead, and don’t just go charging into everything headfirst,” she said. “I won’t win that way. I just won’t. So we can’t play that way.” 

“Fine,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy about it. 

She nodded. “Good.” She scooted over so he could sit next to her. She didn’t bother telling him to back off when he pressed against her, even though she’d given him plenty of room. “All we know right now is that the test is on Tenrou Island. If it’s some kind of race, I’m at a  _ big _ disadvantage.” 

Gajeel shifted uncomfortably and looked away from her. 

She sighed. “It’s time we moved past that. We can’t change the past, and I’ve learned to live with it. You can’t keep getting worked up every time it’s brought up.” 

He still wouldn’t look at her. “But I—” 

She reached up and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. “We’ve never actually talked about this, but we need to. Especially if we’re going to be working together. You did this to me, you broke me. There’s no way around it.” 

His eyes darted to the floor, but he didn’t pull out of her hold. 

She pointed to the scar across her face.  _ “You _ put this here, and you’re the reason my wrists ache when I get cold. It’s  _ your _ fault that my leg doesn’t work like it used to. We’re going to get nowhere pretending otherwise.” She sighed and finally let go of his chin. “But the thing is, living this life, something like this was bound to happen anyways. My family told me over and over again that eventually I was going to come home with some horrific injury, and then I did.” 

He shifted away from her, but then pulled her close again, like he couldn’t decide if he was supposed to touch her or not. 

“And you were in a bad situation when you did what you did. I can acknowledge that,” she continued. “I’m not saying that makes it  _ okay, _ but I get why you did it. If someone told me to hurt someone I didn’t know, or they were going to hurt my friends and family, I can admit that I might have done the same thing.” She shook her head. “And you worked to get yourself back on track. You don’t hurt people like that anymore, so that has to count for something.” Gently she ran her fingers across the burn scar on his jaw, and she eyed the numerous scars lacing his arms. “You have scars, too. Like I said, we all do, with this life we signed up for. So it’s time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. When I say I can’t do something because of my leg, it’s not a backhanded comment against you, I’m just stating the truth. I can’t run or climb like I used to, but all that means is that we’ll have to get creative if that’s what we need to do.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said, very clearly staring at the line of scar tissue across her cheeks and nose. 

She nearly groaned. “Did you listen to a  _ single thing _ I just said?” 

“That’s not what I meant,” he grumbled. “I’m just not good at words like you, so all I can say is I’m sorry, and that I’ll make sure no one  _ ever _ hurts you like that again.” He grabbed her shoulders, holding her tight, and his red eyes were more sincere and intense than she had ever seen. “I’ll protect you.” 

She let out a breath. “Okay. So we understand each other now, yeah?” Gajeel was a very action oriented person, so it made sense his way of apologizing and atoning meant keeping her safe. Maybe that was why he’d followed her around so much the past couple months. She’d assumed it was a weird form of gratitude for the dragon blood, but perhaps this had been the reason. 

He nodded. 

“Good.” She shifted to lean against the back of the booth. “Now like I said, if it’s a race, I’m going to have some issues.” 

“I could carry you,” he said, like it was perfectly obvious. 

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I doubt you could just  _ carry me.”  _

His toothy grin was back. “Ain’t ya noticed? I carry you around all the time now! Hell, I’ve gone on month long quests totin’ a backpack that weighs more than you!” 

She frowned, and supposed that  _ was _ true. Hadn’t he just picked her up and hauled her across the guildhall a few minutes ago like it was nothing? And if she hung on to his back rather than him actually  _ carrying _ her, it’d probably be even easier. “I guess I do only weigh about ninety pounds…” 

“Right. So I can carry you,” he said. “Problem solved.” 

“All right, sure, problem solved,” she laughed, barely noticing how she had taken to leaning against  _ him, _ rather than him just holding her close. 

He brushed his jaw against the top of her head. 

“Why do you do that?” she asked. 

“Do what?” he asked, confused. 

“Rub your face against me,” she said. 

“I… what?” He jerked away from her, eyes wide, and red beginning to creep across his cheeks. 

She would have laughed, Gajeel  _ embarrassed _ wasn’t something she got to see very often, but she was more confused. “Yes, you just did it. You do it most often when you’re drunk, but you do it other times, too. I’ve noticed Natsu do it to Erza and Gray occasionally, and Wendy does it to you. It’s a dragon thing, isn’t it?” 

“Well uh…” He made a noise that was somewhere between clearing his throat and coughing. “Yeah, it… is…” He jumped out of the seat. “I need to talk to… Juvia! Yeah, I need to talk to Juvia.” 

Levy frowned as he dashed off. That was… weird. She’d  _ never _ seen Gajeel so flustered. What was it she had said? 

* * *

_ “What!?” _ Cana screeched. “You’re partnering with  _ Gray!?”  _

_ Oh boy. I’m definitely going to have to deal with the fallout from this, _ Lucy thought. 

“We made a deal months ago!” Loke argued. “It was when we were broken up!” 

Cana groaned and threw her head back. “I  _ have _ to pass this year! I’ve failed so many times that it’s  _ embarrassing!” _

Lucy frowned. She knew it was more than that. Cana had admitted that she would finally tell Gildarts she was his daughter when she became S-Class. Though she personally saw that as Cana putting off having to do such a thing, if this was really how she wanted to do it, then Lucy would help her. “I’ll be your partner,” she said. 

“See!” Loke said. “And with Lucy you have the celestial spirits, so it’s even more than a two person team!” 

Cana growled and Loke took a hasty step backwards. 

He turned to Lucy. “Of course, you know that this means you can’t call on me during the exam.” He grinned. “Sorry, love.” 

“You don’t  _ look _ very sorry,” Lucy said. 

Cana pointed at him. “If we end up fighting, I’m going to tear you to pieces.  _ And _ Gray for stealing my boyfriend.” She grabbed Lucy’s shirt. “Yeah sure, we’re partners, sweetheart, and we’re going to kick our boyfriend’s ass.” She let go and marched across the guildhall.  _ “GRAY!”  _ she screeched. 

Loke winced. “Oh, I feel bad for him.” 

Lucy rolled her eyes. “You could have just told Gray to find another partner. You know how important this is to her.” 

He sighed. “Yeah, I know. But I think that’s why she could use someone else. I’ve been her partner during these tests for years and I’ve never been much help. Besides, I  _ am _ friends with Gray, and I couldn’t just leave him without a partner like that.” 

“He has other friends, doesn’t he?” she asked. 

Loke shrugged. “Yeah, sure. But they’re all either taking the exam, or are S-Class themselves. Downsides of only hanging out with the most powerful Fairy Tail has to offer.” 

She supposed Loke had a point. “Okay, so obviously I don’t know much about this test. Is it deadly?” 

He shook his head. “Nah. You might feel like you’re dying, but no one’s actually trying to kill each other.”

“Okay, good.” Honestly, with Fairy Tail, you could never be too sure with that kind of thing. 

She really hoped she could help Cana win. Sure, she was powerful compared to most wizards, but… They were going up against some real powerhouses. She’d been watching the teams get themselves sorted out. Gray and Loke were going to be a nightmare. So were Freed and Bixlow. Natsu just had Happy, but even then… She hadn’t missed Gajeel and Levy talking in the corner either. 

She just hoped she was enough. 

* * *

Mirajane watched as Evergreen tugged Elfman away, more or less declaring herself as his partner. She was  _ pissed _ that Freed had chosen Bixlow over her. 

“These are some pretty interesting matchups,” Erza said. “I really wasn’t expecting a lot of these.” 

Mirajane hummed in agreement. Happy and Natsu were no surprise, neither were Freed and Bixlow, but everyone else… Definitely a lot of surprises there. “A lot of odd matchups, but they’ve made for some powerful teams. We might have some trouble this year, Erz.” 

Erza chuckled. “Perhaps. But isn’t that the point?” 

Mirajane shrugged. “It’s not meant to be easy for them.” 

“It won’t be. It’s a good thing it’s on Tenrou Island this year,” she said. “With this many powerful wizards running around, we were bound to get in trouble if we had it anywhere else. God knows what all would have gotten destroyed.” 

Mirajane laughed. “You’ve got a point there. Even Gildarts is here this time. It’s definitely a crazy powerful group.” 

* * *

Wendy frowned as she watched all the participants pick partners. 

She wasn’t  _ jealous, _ exactly. She didn’t want to take the test, she knew she was too young and inexperienced, which was also why no one wanted her as a partner, but she didn’t like being left behind. 

Who knew how many days the exam would take, and she wouldn’t be allowed to go! She would be all alone! Every single person she knew was going. 

She sighed. 

“What’s wrong, Wendy?” Charle asked as she crawled into her lap. 

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “I just wish I wasn’t so young sometimes.” The only person even  _ close _ to her age in the guild was Romeo, and even then, he was still a few years younger. She didn’t mind often, and Natsu and the others always did their best to keep her from feeling left out, but occasionally, it couldn’t be overlooked how much younger she was than everyone. 

Charle hummed. “I’m sure you’ll be allowed to take the test in a few years. You’re already an incredibly strong mage.” 

She nodded. “Yeah, I know. I just wish I could at least go  _ with _ them.” 

“Wendy!” Mest waved as he approached the table she sat at. “You didn’t partner up with Natsu or Gray, did you?” 

She frowned and shook her head. 

He grinned. “Awesome! Would you like to be my partner?” 

Her jaw dropped. “You… You want  _ me?” _

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” he asked as he nodded. 

“But I’m so young!” she protested. “And I don’t have very much experience. Surely there’s better options!” 

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to go?” Charle asked quietly. “Well, this is your chance.” 

He shrugged. “More experience, maybe. But you’re powerful. And I don’t know. You’ve been in the guild since you were young, and you’ve gone on lots of quests. So what do you say?” 

She jumped out of her chair. “Yes!” 

* * *

“Juvia! Come with me!” Gajeel grabbed her arm and yanked her out of her seat. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said to a very confused Lisanna before she followed after him. “Gajeel, what’s this about?” She hoped he wasn’t going to ask her to be her partner, since she already had Lisanna. 

He didn’t answer until he had tugged her all the way across the guildhall, and away from any listening ears. “You got a thing for that ice bastard, right?” 

“Uh…” Her cheeks burned bright red. “W-Well… Maybe? I… don’t actually know,” she said. “I’m not sure.” And all these people that assumed she did were making it very hard for her to figure it out herself. 

Gajeel groaned and threw his head back. “Great. I was hoping you knew about this shit, ‘cause my brother sure as hell don’t and I don’t know who else to ask.” 

As soon as she realized what he was talking about, Juvia smirked. “Gajeel, do you have a  _ crush _ on someone?” 

He snarled. “I do  _ not. _ I don’t like  _ anyone. _ I’m too mean and fucking terrible for that.” But his reddening cheeks gave him away. 

“Awwww!” Juvia patted his cheek. “That’s adorable.” And it was! As far as she knew, Gajeel had never  _ actually _ liked anyone like that. Sure, he slept around, but nothing ever really went past a one night stand. It was obvious he had no idea what to do with the feelings. 

“Are you gonna help me or not?” he asked through gritted teeth. 

She cocked her head. “Help you with what? Getting them to go out with you?” 

“What?  _ No!” _ he snapped. “Getting rid of…  _ this. _ I don’t want this! I have more important things to focus on!” 

She shook her head. “Gajeel, you can’t just  _ get rid _ of feelings like that. That’s not how it works.” 

He frowned. “Well son of a bitch.” 

“The most you can do is ignore them, and maybe they’ll go away eventually, but…” She sighed. “I don’t know if that’s a good way to deal with them. Who is it?” She ran through a list of people he spent time with. Obviously it wasn’t her, she doubted it was Cana, Lucy, or Loke. Erza and Gray didn’t make sense either. 

He bit at his lip. “....Levy…”

Juvia’s eyes widened. She  _ never _ would have expected him to fall for someone as soft and sweet as the script mage. “Oh, Gajeel…” 

“I know! I know!” he said. “That’s why I need to… get over whatever the fuck this even is. She’s not gonna…” He sighed. “I’m lucky she even tolerates me.”

She frowned, trying to decide how to even  _ word _ her next question. “How did you… What made you realize you liked her?” No offense to him, but Gajeel wasn’t exactly in tune with his  _ feelings.  _

“A dragon thing,” he said. 

“Huh?” 

He growled. “I… I guess I’ve been… scenting her. I didn’t even realize until she pointed it out.” He shook his head. “It’s stupid.” 

“I don’t know what that means,” Juvia said. Gajeel had never really gone into the specifics of how being part dragon affected him, and she’d never asked. Of course, she’d noticed a few odd habits, but that was it. 

“I’ve done it to you, a few times,” he said. “When I get real close, and rub my face against ya. Kinda like a cat. Makes you smell kinda like me.” 

“Oh.” She’d never asked what he was doing when he did that, more shocked that he was being so physically affectionate. But now that he mentioned it, she’d noticed Natsu and Wendy doing similar things with people they cared about, as well as each other. 

“She brought it up, and I don’t know, as soon as she said it, I just…” He groaned and ran his hand down his face. “I fucking hate this.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” she said. “I can’t help you until you at least decide what you actually want.” She turned and headed back to finish strategizing with Lisanna, leaving him to figure it out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I firmly believe that Gajeel realized he had feelings first, but was just good at pretending to be an emotionless wall of bricks. Also holy shit, I actually wrote some shippy stuff, who'd've thought 
> 
> Regarding that, the next part of the re-write is definitely going to have a lot more to do with ships than this one, and I'm gonna start building up for that in this last arc, so we finally get to experience my ace ass try to write romance and sexual tension lmao


	38. The Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The S-Class exam begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I got super into working on this drawing of one of my OCs and it took over my entire life for like two days. *sighs* If only I could draw as fast as I could write

“Leaving?” Jellal asked, jerking forward. “For how long?” 

Erza chuckled. “I suppose I could have phrased that better. It’s for the S-Class exam,” she explained. “It shouldn’t take any longer than one of my quests. I’ll be back in a few days.” 

“Oh.” He let out a breath. He’d been here for several months now, and Erza was still the only person he’d… connected with. 

Sure, it definitely had something to do with Erza being the only person to willingly spend time with him, but still. He’d definitely grown attached to her. 

She liked him, too… right? She had to, otherwise she’d never come spend time with him when she had so many other friends. For some reason, thinking she liked him made his chest warm and fuzzy. 

“I’ll be sure to let you know who comes out on top when we get back, okay?” Erza waved, and headed back to the main part of the guildhall. 

Jellal sighed. He knew it was only for a few days, but he always hated when she left. 

It felt so empty without her. 

* * *

Lucy grimaced as Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu puked over the side of the boat. That was…  _ disgusting.  _

“At least they made it to the side,” Loke said. 

“No, no, no.” Cana pushed him away. “We’re  _ enemies. _ Get the fuck away.” 

Loke whined. “The test hasn’t even started yet!” 

She shook her head. “Nope.  _ Betrayer. _ Get over there with your stupid partner.” She gestured towards Gray. 

Though he looked like a kicked puppy, Loke shuffled away. 

Lucy laughed. “He’s so needy.” 

Cana hummed as she gazed across the deck of the ship, no doubt examining their competition. Aside from the vomiting dragon slayers, they all looked pretty tough. 

Lucy wasn’t sure they could win. 

“Gajeel, are you okay?” Levy asked as she gently rubbed his back. 

He waved her off. “‘M’fine.” Then he retched and leaned over the side of the ship again. 

“If we have to fight them, let’s trick them into getting on a raft or something,” Lucy said, only halfway joking. 

Cana snickered. 

Lucy gazed towards the horizon. Tenrou Island was just visible against the skyline. She wondered  _ why _ their first master had been buried out here, but she didn’t ask. She had enough to focus on without trying to learn Fairy Tail’s lore. She was sure she would learn some day anyways. 

“So—” Cana slung her arm over Lucy’s shoulders “—when we win and I become S-Class, I’ll be a big shot. I'll get the  _ good _ quests. I’m gonna take you out on some  _ nice _ dates.” 

Lucy smiled. “Oh yeah?” 

Cana nodded. “Oh yeah. No more drinking cheap alcohol in my apartment.” 

“Then we better win,” she said. 

“Yeah.” Cana set her sights on Tenrou. “We better.” 

* * *

Thankfully, the test wasn’t a race. Though she didn’t doubt that Gajeel would have carried her had that been the case, she had really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. 

She was in luck! So long as they made it to the meeting spot, they’d advance to the next round. Now the only issue was hoping they didn’t run into Erza, Mirajane, or, god forbid, Gildarts. She felt confident enough in their abilities that they might be able to handle the other teams, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about the S-Class wizards yet. 

The Master announced that the teams could go, and the chaos unfolded. 

Levy tried to jump over the side of the ship, only to smack into one of Freed’s damned enchantments. 

“Freed, you fucking bitch!” Cana screamed as she pounded her fists against the glowing purple runes. 

“It’ll go down after a few minutes!” he called. “I wasn’t  _ that _ mean!” 

While everyone else was distracted with hitting the barrier and screaming curses at Freed and Bixlow (who were already long gone), Levy already had her pen out, rewriting the enchantment as quick as she possibly could. 

Gajeel hovered over her shoulder, surprisingly calm. “How long’s this gonna take?”

“Few more seconds,” she said. “Don’t distract me.” 

He hummed, but didn’t say anything else. Or back off. 

She finished up with the enchantment. “Done!” 

Gajeel grabbed her and jumped over the side of the boat. They resurfaced, spluttering and shaking water from their hair, just in time to hear Natsu  _ smack _ against the barrier. Hard. 

“Levy, what the  _ fuck!?” _ Gray shouted. 

She laughed as she began to swim towards Tenrou. It wouldn’t stall them for long, but she’d take whatever she could get. 

A few moments later, Natsu and Happy shot overhead. 

“God, never thought I’d be jealous of those damn wings,” Gajeel muttered. 

Levy was inclined to agree. The island was still quite a ways away and her legs and arms were already aching. Would it have  _ killed _ the Master to let the ship take them a little closer? 

Juvia and Lisanna quickly passed them, but thankfully everyone else was still behind thanks to being trapped for a few extra minutes. 

With burning muscles, Levy eventually crawled onto the beach, panting. “That was  _ terrible.” _ She flopped down into the sand. 

“Is yer leg botherin’ you?” Gajeel asked as he wrung out his hair. 

“Not anymore than usual.” She forced herself to sit up. They needed to get moving before the teams still behind them caught up. “Glad I didn’t wear my brace though. Would’ve made it hell to swim like that.” 

He frowned. “You’re  _ sure?” _

“Yeah.” She got to her feet. “Come on. Let’s pick a path and get going. Freed, Natsu, and Juvia are already ahead, and I don’t want anyone else to pass us.” 

His frown turned into a feral grin. “I hope we get Scarlet.” He punched his fist into his palm. “Still haven’t got the chance to fight her yet.” 

Levy rolled her eyes.  _ “I _ think it would be great if we got the path without anyone, but I’ll let you hope, I suppose.” 

* * *

“Hey Natsu… I have a question.” 

Natsu leaned down to pick up Happy. “What is it, buddy?” 

The Exceed went limp in his arms. “You don’t need me to fly anymore, so how come you picked me as your partner? Especially when Gajeel wanted to help you?” 

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Of course I’d pick you! We’ve always been partners!” Happy had been one of his first friends, right there alongside Erza and Gray. Sure, he may not always be around, he  _ was _ a cat after all, but he was there when it counted. 

“I just feel useless to you now,” he said as he crawled to his favorite place on Natsu’s shoulders. 

“I promise you’re not,” he said as he scratched his ears. 

“Well, okay then,” Happy said. “Do you think we’ll have to fight Erza?” 

“I hope we get Gildarts!” Natsu exclaimed. “I’ve fought Erza lots of times! I guess Mira could be fun… but Gildarts would be the best!” 

Happy nipped at his ear. “He would destroy you.” 

“Hey!” He flicked him away from his ear. “Have a little faith in me. And don’t do that, that hurts.” 

Happy hissed. 

Natsu rolled his eyes and continued down the path. He hadn’t managed to catch up to Freed, but everyone else was behind him. He’d been hoping to tell which paths the S-Class mages had gone down by scent, but he hadn’t been able to. There were so many odd smells on the island that were messing with his senses. 

There were the normal smells of the forest, plus all kinds of monsters and different creatures. But beneath that… there were two more scents. Both of them ancient, and powerful. He tried not to focus on them, as they both sent strange tingles down his spine, but they were hard to ignore. 

He took in a deep breath, trying to discern if the scents were just magic, or if they belonged to people, or… something  _ other. _ They were similar, but definitely belonged to two different sources. 

He was so distracted by the scents that he didn’t notice the person waiting for him as he rounded the bend until Happy nudged at his cheek. “Looks like you got your wish.” 

“Come on, Natsu,” Gildarts said. “You already look half out of it and we haven’t even fought yet.” 

Natsu grinned. 

* * *

Lisanna couldn’t believe their rotten luck. 

Of all opponents, they’d run into  _ Erza. _ If it had been Gildarts, Lisanna was sure he would go easy on her, especially if she feigned being overly injured by attacks. And she knew Mirajane’s fighting style inside and out. It would have been difficult, but she believed they could have gotten past the both of them. 

But  _ no. _ They got  _ Erza. _

They were surrounded by water, so at least Juvia had that advantage, but from the way the requip mage was smirking at them, Lisanna wasn’t convinced that it would be enough. 

Juvia attacked without hesitation, either because she didn’t understand the magnitude of Erza’s abilities, or because her strategy was to end this quickly, Lisanna wasn’t sure. However, Erza easily dodged the water mage’s attacks. 

But she didn’t go on the offensive, even though she had had several openings. Lisanna realized that Erza was going  _ easy _ on them. She was giving them a  _ chance, _ the opportunity to prove their worth. But as soon as she decided that they weren’t good enough, that was it. She was going to  _ kick their asses. _

Lisanna wasn’t going to let that happen. 

She joined Juvia’s attacks, hoping that with both of them on the offensive at least  _ one _ of them could land some hits. 

It was no use. Erza dodged every attack, requipping into different armor sets to boost her already frightening abilities. And when she inevitably grew bored with dodging, she attacked. 

Lisanna was the first to be on the receiving end, being thrown into the tunnel’s wall. She cried out as her body slammed into the stone. 

“You’ve improved over the years, Lisanna, but I’m afraid we’re nowhere near the same level,” she said as she summoned another sword. She turned towards Juvia and grinned. Grinned like every Fairy Tail mage did when they knew they were going to win. “You had the right to take this test, but you’re not ready to pass yet.” 

Magic power exploded from Erza, and Juvia took a hasty step backwards. 

Lisanna forced herself back to her feet, though she knew there was no point. 

This was Erza’s victory. 

* * *

“I think we lucked out with the path,” Levy said. 

Gajeel groaned. “I wanted to fight someone!”  _ Of course _ he got stuck on the stupid route without an opponent. Natsu was probably fighting someone and having the time of his life. 

Levy rolled her eyes. “You get to fight plenty, Gajeel. And this is good. We’ll still have a strength left for whatever the next portion is. Everyone else will have used at least _ some _ of their magic power, so we’ll have the advantage.” 

Gajeel smiled, though he tried to hide it. He’d always known Levy was smart, much smarter than him. It was glaringly obvious when they worked together. He just went charging into things with no plan, and here she was, already thinking steps ahead. He hadn’t even  _ considered _ pacing himself for the second part of the test. 

“What are you smiling about?” she asked, elbowing him in the stomach. “I thought you were grumpy about not getting to fight S-Class mages.” 

He huffed. “‘M not  _ smiling.” _ He bared his teeth in a snarl. “See.” 

Levy sighed and shook her head. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to be nice sometimes.” 

He bit back a snappish retort, not wanting to prove her right. But he couldn’t be nice to her! Not when… when… What if she figured it out? What then? Probably pity, or something like that, because she  _ definitely _ wouldn’t want anything to do with him. After realizing his stupid fucking feelings, he’d wanted to avoid her. That seemed like the quickest and easiest way to get rid of them, but he’d volunteered to be her partner for this stupid fucking test. He wasn’t enough of an asshole to just say “never mind” and leave her struggling to figure something else out. Especially not after the talk they’d had about her leg. And  _ now _ they didn’t even have the distraction of fighting someone. It was just the two of them. Walking through the forest. Alone. 

Worst of all, she refused to just walk in silence. Of course, he’d learned by this point how talkative Levy was, but it seemed worse all of a sudden. Probably because he wanted her to actually be quiet now, and before, he’d  _ liked _ listening to her talk. 

(He still liked listening to her talk, but he wasn’t going to admit that to himself). 

Not to mention she kept poking and prodding at him when he didn’t answer. He’d kind of brought that one on himself, after being so touchy with her for so long. She was… trying to return the favor, he supposed. Used to, it would have been great, when he was still wonderfully oblivious to his own  _ stupid fucking feelings.  _

“Oh my god,” she said. “You’re actually upset over not getting to fight someone, aren’t you? You’re sulking!” 

“Sure, Shrimp,” he said. Let her believe that’s why he was sulking. It was so much better than her figuring the other thing out. 

* * *

“You know, Freed,” Cana purred as she leaned over him. “I  _ always _ thought you were hot.” 

“C-Cana, we are in the middle of an exam!” he exclaimed. 

Lucy rolled her eyes. There were so many ridiculous things about this situation that she wasn’t sure which one to focus on first. 

The fact that Aquarius had bailed again, the fact that Freed had gone this long in Fairy Tail without getting used to topless women, the fact that her girlfriend was trying to seduce Freed. It was just  _ too much.  _

“I really don’t know what’s going on at this point,” Bixlow said next to her, just as amused as she was with the situation. They'd stopped fighting each other a few moments ago to thoroughly enjoy this train wreck. 

She shrugged. 

“Does she know he’s gay?” he asked. 

“Let’s be real here, does  _ Freed _ know he’s gay?” Lucy retaliated. 

Bixlow snickered. 

By this point, Cana was practically laying on top of him, and Freed’s face was as red as blood. “You like this, huh?” She stuck her tongue out—

“Oh my god, Cana,  _ no!” _ Lucy exclaimed. 

And ran it across Freed’s jaw and up his face. 

The man let out one of  _ the most _ ridiculous squeaking noises Lucy had ever heard, before collapsing. 

“Did he  _ seriously _ just pass out?” Lucy demanded. 

“Damn, he really should have taken his chance with me,” Cana said as she put her hands on her hips. “Now come on, Bix, I’ve gotta kick your ass.” 

Lucy rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t even a fight. That was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen!” 

Cana shrugged and pulled her cards out of her bag. “If it works, it works. Freed’s a lot smarter than me, I gotta level the playing field  _ somehow.” _ She flicked the cards between her fingers. “Now let’s finish this.” 

* * *

It was Wendy’s fault they lost. 

She was too confident, convinced that her ability to steal the air from her opponents would give them an easy win. 

She’d forgotten that Loke wasn’t human, and as a celestial spirit, had the ability to function without oxygen. Her attack had incapacitated Gray, but not his partner. 

Due to her shock, and Mest out of it due to a head wound, it hadn’t taken Loke long to defeat them. 

“Hey, you did your best, it’s not a big deal,” Mest assured her. 

She tried to blink back her tears. She didn’t even know Mest that well, but she still felt awful about ruining his chances. “If you’d had another partner you probably would have done a lot better!” 

He shook his head. “Really, it’s okay, kid. I wasn’t expecting to win anyways.” 

She rubbed the tears from her eyes. “I’m still sorry.” 

“Tell you what, since we’re out now, how about we explore the island for a little bit?” he suggested. “Check out the flowers, and the animals. We can find that Exceed of yours, too. She came along, didn’t she?” 

Wendy hesitated, but nodded. 

“Right, come on, then.” He lifted her up to stand on her feet. “There’s no use crying, and you did your best.” 

* * *

Mirajane could only stare, wide-eyed, as Evergreen grabbed her brother, announced they had been secretly dating for a year and were getting married, then engaged in one of the most passionate kisses she had ever seen. 

As soon as Evergreen pulled out of the kiss, she attacked Mirajane with all the magic power she had while she was distracted.  _ “Go!”  _ she shouted, sprinting away and tugging Elfman after her. 

Mirajane fell onto her ass, just staring after them. 

Of course, as soon as they were gone, she realized it had been ruse meant to distract her (and it had worked perfectly), but she found herself wondering if it had been planned or not. If so, whose suggestion had it been? Why had Evergreen used so much  _ tongue? _

If it had been improvised, Mirajane had to give it to Elfman for keeping his composure and going along with it. He’d gone a little rigid, but hadn’t seemed all that surprised. Maybe he was a better actor than Mirajane gave him credit for. 

She released her takeover magic, shifting back into her normal form. “I can’t believe…” Improvised or planned, whichever it had been, it truly was a brilliant move. They  _ knew _ how much she liked to meddle in relationships, and one that had come out of nowhere like that, _and_ involved her brother, was sure to rattle her. “Elf, I can’t believe you  _ did _ that!” 

She stood up and brushed the dirt off herself. Their magic attacks really hadn’t been all that powerful, but she didn’t go after them, content to let them pass this portion of the test. 

They deserved it, after having the guts to pull something like that off. 

* * *

Natsu fell into a crouch, panting. 

He hadn’t expected Gildarts to be an easy opponent. He’d  _ never  _ expected that. And it was  _ great!  _

He could go all out, really push the limits of his powers, without worrying about killing his opponent. 

He forced himself up, laughing as he realized what he’d accomplished. 

Gildarts had been pushed back a few feet, the ground scuffed from where he’d been pushed backwards. “I moved you!” he shouted, wings flaring in excitement. “I moved you!” 

“All that…” Happy muttered. “And he just pushed him backwards?” The Exceed stumbled back a few paces as his fur fluffed up, scared by all the magic building in the air. 

“You’re really going all out, aren’t you, kid?” Gildarts asked with a smile.

Natsu settled into a fight stance. “‘Course I am! I wanna beat you at your full power!” 

“My full power?” Gildarts asked. “If you are going to fight me to the best of your abilities, I owe you the same honor.” 

Natsu grinned. This was exactly what he wanted! To beat Gildarts at his best! There would be no better way to prove he was worthy of the S-Class rank than that! 

The magic power around Gildarts increased. He pulled in more and more of the energy, not releasing it, just letting it build in his body. 

The air around him grew dense, and heavy, a horrible pressure shoved down on everything around him. 

Natsu stumbled backwards a step as his eyes widened. This was more magic power than he’d taken in when he burned through the lacrima in Edolas, and that had completely  _ incapacited him.  _

And Gildarts’ power was  _ still growing.  _

Part of Natsu still wanted to fight, even as Gildarts magic grew more and more powerful. He might be able to pull it off, somehow! He couldn’t just  _ give up!  _ That wasn’t how he did things! He  _ never  _ turned his back on a fight. 

But his instincts screamed at him to submit, to roll over and beg for mercy, and that anything else was  _ suicide.  _

He fell onto his hands and knees, claws digging into the dirt. 

Dragons fought. They fought all the time. But a dragon also knew when there was no chance against someone, and that it was smarter to submit, to live to fight another day. 

His dragon instincts were running rampant, leaving it hard to focus, hard to think rationally. It wasn’t like a rampage, this had happened a rare few times, when he was actually  _ scared.  _ He lost the ability to focus, to control himself, but not in a violent way. His instincts took over to protect him. 

And right now…. That meant giving up. Not challenging this much more powerful being. 

The last embers of his fire flickered away as he hunched against the ground, his wings curling around his body as a protective shield. He bowed his head. “I surrender,” he whispered. “I  _ surrender.”  _

The horrifying, crushing magic began to ebb away. “Do you understand now, Natsu?” 

“I…” He pressed himself to the ground, some small part of him waiting for a killing blow. He tried to remind himself that this was Gildarts, it was a test, he wasn’t actually going to  _ kill him, _ but his instincts refused to listen. 

Gildarts approached, kneeling down in front of him. “Do you  _ understand _ now, Natsu?” he repeated. “Sometimes… there are fights you just can’t win. And you must learn to accept that.” 

Natsu whimpered. 

“Look at me,” Gildarts said. 

Ever so slowly, Natsu forced his head up. 

“Do you  _ understand?”  _

“Yes.” 

* * *

Mavis closed her eyes and reached her senses out across Tenrou Island. It’d been a long time since members of her guild had come out here. She had to admit she was impressed. She hadn’t met them yet, but the  _ power _ she felt from them was amazing. 

“Can you feel it, too, Zeref?” she whispered. “Maybe they will be the ones that finally allow us to rest.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I kind of glossed over the fight scenes, but I'm ready for the super intense Grimoire Heart fights, so those will be a lot more detailed


	39. The Black Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeref encounters some Fairy Tail mages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some day I'll update things at a reasonable hour, but today is not that day

Find the First Master’s grave, huh? That couldn’t be that hard. It didn’t  _ sound _ that hard, anyways. Tenrou wasn’t exactly that big of an island. 

Lucy had a feeling she might be really underestimating this part of the test. 

Three teams were out, and though they weren’t necessarily the ones she had been most worried about, that was good. They’d gone from seven opponents to four. 

They were given an hour to rest, and then the second part of the test would begin. 

“So who ended up with the S-Class wizards?” Gray asked. He gestured to Loke. “We ran into Wendy and Mest.” 

“Well it wasn’t us!” Gajeel said with a sullen look as he crossed his arms. “We got the stupid path without anyone!” 

Levy sighed and shook her head. 

“We met my sister,” Elfman said. 

“And you guys  _ survived?” _ Cana asked. “How the fuck did you pull that off?” 

Elfman coughed awkwardly, and made a point to look at anyone other than Evergreen. “Oh, you know, we just… managed.” 

“Well that’s vague and suspicious!” Loke said with a grin. 

“I told Mirajane we were getting married, then went in for a cheap shot while she was distracted,” Evergreen said. 

“Holy shit! That’s brutal,” Cana said. “Nice job.” She gestured to Lucy. “We kicked Freed and Bixlow’s asses.” 

Lucy nodded, though there hadn’t really been a lot of  _ ass-kicking. _

“So who got Erza and Gildarts?” Gray asked. 

“Natsu had to have ended up with one of them,” Levy said. “And Juvia lost to the other.” 

“Hey Natsu!” Gray called. “Who’d you fight?” 

The dragon slayer sat a little ways from everyone else, staring down at the forest floor. He spared a glance towards Gray, but didn’t answer. 

Gajeel frowned and got up to sit next to his brother. 

“That’s weird,” Gray said. “Obviously he won. You’d think he wouldn’t shut up about it.” He shrugged. “Still can’t believe Juvia lost though.” 

* * *

“Hey, what happened to you?” Gajeel asked as he sat next to his brother. 

Natsu stiffened, and a wary growl rumbled from his chest. His eyes were wild and glazed, and he kept flexing his claws. 

“Woah.” Slowly, so that Natsu could see what he was doing, Gajeel grabbed his shoulder. “You need to calm down.” He turned his questioning gaze towards Happy, who was sitting a few paces away. 

The Exceed shook his head. “He’s been like this since he fought Gildarts. He’s not really talking.” 

Gajeel frowned. Surely Natsu hadn’t given into his instincts for a  _ test. _ He knew his brother liked to win, but he wasn’t  _ that  _ bad. 

Unless… 

Ever since being partially turned into a dragon, Natsu’s instincts had gotten harder for him to control (they were for Gajeel and Wendy as well, but it wasn’t as bad). Had he lost it during the fight without meaning to? Why hadn’t he snapped out of it yet? How long had he been like this? 

Gajeel wrapped his arm around Natsu’s shoulders and rested his chin on top of his head. “How long’s he been like this, cat?” 

Happy’s ears flicked. “I dunno. An hour, maybe?” 

“Did he rampage during his fight?” He hadn’t had the privilege of seeing his brother rampage (other than when he’d just about gotten there when they were reunited, before Wendy snapped him out of it). He’d heard it often ended ugly, though. He didn’t  _ think _ Natsu would get that worked up fighting a fellow guild member, but his instincts  _ had _ been a little haywire, as of late. 

Happy shook his head. “Of course not! That only happens when he gets  _ mad. _ He got like this when he surrendered.” 

_ “Surrendered?” _ Gajeel demanded. They  _ were _ talking about Natsu, right? And if he had surrendered, why was he allowed to pass that portion of the test? 

“Couldn’t win…” Natsu said quietly, his voice warped by a soft growl. He grabbed onto Gajeel’s upper arm, so tightly Gajeel had to turn the skin to iron to keep his claws from shredding it. “That  _ power…” _

Hell yeah, Gildarts must have been  _ powerful, _ if he could reduce his brother to this mess. “You need to snap out of it,” he said. “You ain’t gonna be able to do this next part if you don’t start thinkin’ straight.” He snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Come on, fuckin’ weirdo.” 

Natsu blinked, and his grip on Gajeel’s arm began to loosen. 

“That’s it.” He flicked at his ear, causing it to twitch. “Turn your fucking reptile brain off. God, y’er bein’ unprofessional.” 

Natsu let out a shaky breath as his eyes cleared up, the feral shine in them fading away. “Sorry…” he muttered. “Couldn’t help it…” 

Gajeel scoffed and pulled away. “The hell did that bastard do to you?” 

Natsu huffed. “Nothin.’ He just… He showed me his power and then my dragon side just took over. I curled up and surrendered, like a damn coward.” 

Gajeel whacked the back of his head. 

“Hey!” 

“If he was powerful enough your instincts forced you tap out, he woulda torn you to pieces,” he said. 

“Fuck you!” Natsu snarled. 

Gajeel rolled his eyes. “Whatever. ‘M just sayin,’ you’ve kind of got an issue with backing down when you need to.” 

“Like you’re any better,” he said. But then he went quiet, like he was  _ thinking, _ and boy if that wasn’t terrifying. 

“Tch. Get yourself sorted out, or me and Levy are gonna kick your ass.” He got up to leave him to finish getting himself sorted out. 

“What was that about?” Levy asked when he returned. “He seems kind of spooked. Is he okay? Did he get hurt?” 

“Nah.” He shook his head. “Dragon thing. Don’t worry about it.” 

She frowned, but didn’t press. 

* * *

“They’re getting  _ married!?” _ Erza demanded. 

Mirajane laughed. “No, I’m pretty sure it was just a ruse to distract me. I have to admit, it worked though.” 

Erza frowned. “That’s a dirty trick.” Fights were supposed to be honorable! A way to prove you were better than someone with pure power and skill! She would never resort to such underhanded tactics. 

Mirajane shrugged. “If it works, it works. You have to admit, manipulation is one of Evergreen’s strengths. So she used it.” 

“Still.” Erza pulled the spoon out of the soup she was stirring to taste it, but Lisanna grabbed it just before she licked it. 

“You can’t lick it when other people are going to eat it,” he said as she stuck it back in the pot. “Mira, you need to teach your girlfriend better cooking habits.” 

Mirajane sighed. “Honestly, I’m doing good to undo all the bad habits she’s picked up from Gray and Natsu.” 

“Hey!” Erza didn’t think she was  _ that _ bad, and she was  _ highly _ offended that her cooking skills were being compared to the likes of Natsu and Gray. 

“Speaking of marriage, are you both going to wear dresses at the wedding?” Lisanna asked, gesturing between Mirajane and Erza. 

Erza hummed. “I think I would like to wear a dress. What about you, Mira?” 

She nodded. “Oh a dress, absolutely! A big, white dress with lots of lace and bows!” Then she grinned at Lisanna. “So when are you and Natsu going to make it official?” 

“Mira!” Lisanna protested, her cheeks turning bright red. “I’ve told you, it’s not like that!” 

Erza chuckled. “You know, if you  _ do _ want something to happen between you two,  _ you’re _ going to have to be the one to suggest it. Natsu really is hopeless with these kinds of things.” 

She shook her head wildly. “No! We’re just friends!” 

“Well, okay.” She didn’t doubt that Natsu would be content if the two of them remained friends, but it  _ would _ be cute if they ended up together. And though she doubted Natsu would ever realize it by himself, she was fairly certain he had a massive crush on the girl. He had ever since they were children, really. 

She really would like it though, if her two best friends found someone to date in the next few years. She knew not everyone wanted or needed that, but maybe Mirajane’s matchmaking tendencies had rubbed off on her. 

Speaking of which… “Hey, Juvia,” she called over the water mage who was chopping onions for them. “Are you and Gray a thing? He never answers me when I ask him.” 

She squeaked and dropped the knife. “Oh, uh… no, we’re not.” 

“Oh.” They’d been spending so much time together that she actually thought maybe they were and Gray just didn’t want to admit it. 

Mirajane sighed and leaned against the table. “At this rate, those two are going to die alone.” 

Juvia laughed nervously. “Oh, I’m not really even sure I like Gray like that. It’s not just him.” 

“Don’t even bother, Juvia,” Lisanna said. “They won’t listen.” 

Erza turned back to her pot of soup. Maybe Lisanna was right. Maybe they shouldn’t be so pushy about it and let everyone figure it out on their own time. She smiled.  _ At least they’re not trying to kill each other like Mira and I were, so they’re already a step ahead.  _

* * *

“Finding this grave shouldn’t be too hard, should it?” Gray asked. “I mean, it’s not like there’s exactly a lot of graves on this island.” 

Loke shrugged. “Who knows. I get that this is our sacred land, but why’d the First Master get buried out here?” He pushed aside a tree branch, only for it to swing back and whack the back of his head. 

Gray snickered. 

“I know I’m not  _ super _ knowledgeable about human customs,” he continued. “But doesn’t it… I don’t know, seem kind of lonely to be buried out here, all alone?”

“Something tells me she doesn’t mind too much,” Gray replied. “She  _ is _ dead, after all.” 

Loke sighed. “You know what I mean.” 

Gray frowned. “I guess so.” Did the dead feel lonely? He couldn’t imagine so. And maybe it was because he was so used to people he knew not  _ having _ graves, but the idea of the First Master buried out here didn’t seem to give him the same melancholic feelings it gave Loke. 

Mavis Vermillion was dead and gone, and he doubted her grave made her sad. 

* * *

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d ventured out to Tenrou Island. 

A year? Two? 

Time… it was a funny thing. The more it passed, the less it felt like it did. 

All he knew was that he’d needed a break from Alvarez. A break from all the  _ living _ things of the world. 

Not that this island wasn’t alive. 

But of course it was. A girl as vibrant as Mavis wouldn’t have come from a desolate wasteland. 

Would she? 

Not that it much mattered, because if he stayed here, a desolate wasteland was what it would become. Nothing more than the skeletons of trees and the corpses of animals. 

Had Natsu been worth it? This curse? 

Perhaps… 

He just wanted to  _ sleep. _ To lie down and never awaken again. 

But it was odd. He kept sensing strange bursts of magical energy. Why was that? Had wizards come to Tenrou? He doubted that. Why would they? Nothing was out here. 

“What do you think, Natsu? Mavis?” he asked. 

Obviously, he didn’t get a reply. He’d taken to talking to them over the years. He  _ did _ still get lonely, after all, and they were the only people who had ever truly cared about him. Maybe talking to people who weren’t there was a sign of his decaying mind, but personally, he thought his mind had decayed long ago. 

Decayed after his family had died, after he’d gained this curse, after he’d turned his little brother into a monster to both save him and kill himself, after he’d killed the girl he loved. 

Of course he couldn’t think straight anymore, contradictions aside. 

Why had he  _ done _ those things? 

To save Natsu, right? But had Natsu  _ needed _ to be saved? 

_ Death….  _

He clutched at his head. Why couldn’t he  _ think? _ His thoughts chased each other in circles, over and over and over. 

He just wanted everything to  _ end. _ He  _ hated _ living like this! 

His head snapped up as he heard the rustle of underbrush. More animals? He hoped not. He hoped their senses and instincts were good enough to steer them away from him. 

But it wasn’t animals who tumbled down the bank and landed a few paces away. It was a pair of  _ humans, _ bickering about something he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to. 

So the magic power he’d sensed  _ had _ been other wizards. But  _ why _ were they here? 

“Who are you?” the man demanded. 

“There’s not supposed to be people here…” Zeref muttered, taking a step backwards. Why did they have to  _ come _ here? He had gotten away from humans because he was tired of killing them! “You need to go.” 

The woman scoffed.  _ “Go? _ You’re the one on our guild’s sacred ground! Why are you here? You have no right to be.” 

“Ah, you’re with a guild.” He supposed that made a… little more sense. As for this being their sacred ground… 

Eventually, his eyes found their guildmarks, and though it took him a moment to place them, he doubted he would ever  _ truly _ forget that symbol. He laughed. 

The pair exchanged a glance. “Alright, he’s some type of crazy,” the woman said. 

These were Mavis’s followers, the members of that damned guild he’d had a hand in creating. So it was still going strong after all these years. Were they out here to pay respects to their First Master’s homeland? What had the guild’s name been? Fairy something. Fairy… Fairy…. “Fairy Tail!” he exclaimed. 

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, so you’ve obviously heard of our guild. Now what are you doing out here?” 

He felt the wave of black magic coming. “You need to go!” he shouted. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but especially not members of the guild Mavis had worked so hard to create. “I can’t…” He clutched at his head. “I can’t hold it back!” 

“What the hell?” the man demanded. 

Zeref stumbled backwards, and the wave of black magic was unleashed, ravaging over the island. 

“Get down!” 

Zeref gasped. That  _ voice.  _ Could it be? It’d changed, over the years, but not so much that it was unrecognizable. 

As the black magic receded, leaving behind dead vegetation and any animal unlucky enough to get caught up in it, he stared at the person who had shoved the two Fairy Tail mages out of the magic’s way. 

“After all these years…” he whispered. So  _ this _ was the era the Eclipse Gate had brought him to. 

His little brother stood up, and Zeref’s eyes widened as his scaly, red wings unfurled, shielding the two mages. 

Had his E.N.D. side been triggered, some how? Was that why he was here? To finally kill him and put an end to this nightmare that was his existence? 

No, that wasn’t right. His magical energy felt nothing like that of an Etherious’s. Quickly, he took in the scales on his face, neck, and arms, his slit pupils, the claws that tipped his fingers.  _ Ah, so the dragons' plan  _ was _ to turn those children into monsters of the same caliber as Acnologia. _ Though Igneel had never outright stated as much, Zeref had had his suspicions. 

It was interesting though, to see how Natsu’s demon side had merged with the draconic attributes. Those were most definitely the wings of his Etherious form, there was no doubt about that. 

He smiled, thrilled to finally see his brother again after all this time, but also curious. Curious about what kind of monster he’d been twisted into with draconic and demonic magic warring inside him. “It’s good to see you, Natsu.” 

* * *

“How do you know my name?” Natsu demanded.

He jumped when Evergreen placed her hand on his shoulder. “Be careful. I think he’s unhinged.” 

“Yeah,” Elfman agreed. “Something’s not right about him.” 

Natsu didn’t need them to tell him that. This man was one of the sources of magic he’d been sensing ever since they got to Tenrou. Not to mention the strange tingles that’d started running down his spine when he looked him in the eye. 

But the worst thing, was the familiarity he had that Natsu just could not place. A sick comfort he felt when he looked at him. “How do you know  _ my name?” _ he repeated when he didn’t answer, a little bit of panic creeping into his voice. 

“So it’s not time yet,” the man said with a sigh. “Unfortunate.” 

He tried to take a step forward, but Evergreen and Elfman held him back. “Who the hell are you!?”

The man’s easy smile melted into a grimace, and his magical energy spiked again. 

Natsu turned and shoved Elfman and Evergreen. “Get away! Happy!” 

“Aye, sir!” Happy bounded down the bank, materializing his wings, before latching onto Elfman and Evergreen, tugging them away as quickly as he could. 

Natsu turned back to the man, determined to get some damned answers, freaky dark magic or  _ not. _ “You have to tell me who you are!” He needed to know, he had to  _ know!  _

The black magic exploded outward. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his arms up in defense, though he knew it probably wouldn’t do much. 

“Natsu!” Happy shouted. 

The black magic swirled around him, and… nothing happened? Nothing hurt, he was still standing, he didn’t even  _ feel _ anything. 

He opened his eyes to see the last of the magic fading away, and to realize that the wizard was gone. “Dammit!” 

“Natsu!” Happy shot towards him and latched onto his shoulder. “Are you okay?” he demanded. “That magic felt…  _ bad.”  _

“I’m fine.” He sniffed at the air, determined to track that wizard back down. But all the air smelled of was death and decay. It was nearly bad enough to make him gag. He could never hope to track a scent in this. 

Evergreen and Elfman crept back towards him. “What the hell was that?” they whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha, I'm gonna have so much fun with Zeref and Mavis


	40. Fall of the Fairies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail members get captured all over the island, and Mirajane and Natsu realize these wizards might be more than they can handle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait, but you know how the holidays can be. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I spent yesterday polishing up the outline for this arc (and I've never even outlined before, that should tell you how intense and complicated this is gonna get lmao), and I'm excited for the direction it's going to go!

Levy wasn’t sure what had happened. 

She  _ still _ didn’t know what was going on. Everything had grown fuzzy, and dull. She felt something wrapped around her, squeezing against her. 

Where was Gajeel? What happened? 

She tried to force her eyes open, but they were too heavy. Her fingers twitched as smooth vines wrapped around them, stopping the little movement she was capable of. 

They’d been fighting monsters, forest creatures that were really no threat at all, just little obstacles meant to slow them down and tire them out. 

But that’s when everything grew unclear. 

Gajeel had grabbed her, tucking her close to his chest as they hit the ground. Had he been shielding her from something? Someone? But if that had been the case, why hadn’t she sensed the fluctuations of magical energy in the air? 

They fell to the ground… and he’d crouched over her, protecting her, right? 

The light behind her eyelids began to fade, and it grew harder to  _ think.  _

She thought she might have rolled over to grab him, to hold onto him, and do everything she could to keep them from being separated. 

But she’d still been taken away from him. She couldn’t feel or sense him anywhere. All there was was this cool, dark nothing. 

“Gajeel…” she managed to whisper. 

Her fingers twitched once more, as the last of her awareness faded. 

* * *

Erza could only stare in horror as wood, vines, and branches sprouted from the ground, encasing the Master in the blink of an eye. He disappeared inside the wood within seconds, leaving no time for a struggle or a way to stop whatever magic this was. 

“Master!” Mirajane shouted, running forward to claw and tear at the tree that had grown around him. 

Erza summoned her sword, and searched madly for the one responsible, reaching out to feel the fluctuations in magical energy, but she felt  _ nothing.  _ It was as if the island itself had turned against them! 

“Lisanna!” she said. “Fire off a flare. Call off the test. Something is very wrong.” 

Lisanna blinked and shook her head, snapping herself out of the shock that had come with watching the Master be devoured by the island. “I’m on it.” 

Juvia joined Mirajane in trying to destroy the tree, but any progress they made was quickly grown back over, leaving the tree even thicker and tougher than before. 

The air grew thick, the intense pressure of magical energy shoving down on them, as if whoever had done this decided to stop masking their presence.

Erza summoned another sword, and moved to stand protectively in front of Mirajane and Juvia, who had both tensed with the magical pressure. 

She held her swords out, waiting for the culprit to show themselves. 

They had violated Fairy Tail’s sacred ground, attacked them in a place they had no business being, and had  _ hurt their Master.  _

Whoever dared to threaten their most powerful wizards in a place where they were protected by the land itself had just proven they had no sense of self preservation. 

“On your guard,” she muttered, eyes darting around the clearing. “Lisanna, come over here with us.” 

As soon as she shot off the flare, Lisanna bounded over to stand back to back with the three of them. 

“Get ready,” Erza said. “Whoever they are, they’re strong.”

* * *

Wendy sensed the spike of magical energy and leapt out of the way just in time to see a massive tree spring to life where she’d been standing a fraction of a second ago. As soon as she landed, the magic spiked again. 

Mest grabbed her and yanked her out of the way of a tree for a second time. “Are you okay?” he demanded, looking around for a wizard that might be causing this. 

She nodded, righting her balance. She sniffed the air, confused to discover no new scents, and hers and Mest’s being the only human ones close at all. “What’s going on?” 

He reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but before he did, he disappeared. 

Wendy’s eyes widened as she squeaked. She knew Mest could teleport, but he wouldn’t just  _ leave _ her like that, would he? 

She stumbled backwards, waiting,  _ needing _ for him to reappear as the magical energy on the island began to shift, becoming darker, more menacing. 

It spiked again, and this time, she couldn’t jump out of the way fast enough. She barely had enough time to scream as the wood wrapped around her. 

* * *

“Was that the signal flare to halt the test?” Gray asked as he narrowed his eyes at the sky. As soon as the words left his mouth, cold tingles raced down his spine. 

The magic in the air had shifted. 

Loke sniffed at the air. “Something’s not right.” 

Gray peered around a tree trunk to see Lucy and Cana tense. So they’d sensed something was off too. 

“Hey!” Loke ran out of the underbrush before Gray could stop him. “Stay close.” 

“Wha—Loke! Were you following us!?” Cana demanded. 

Gray sighed, and followed after him. There was no point in trying to keep hidden now anyways. 

Loke frowned. “It’s a good thing I was… The magic everywhere just flipped around.” 

“Huh? Sure, it feels kind of funny now, but why are you so jumpy about it?” Lucy asked. 

“Did you not see the signal flare?” Gray asked as he approached. “Something  _ is _ wrong. They’ve called off the test.” 

“I’m not quitting,” Cana said. 

“Cana!” Loke and Lucy exclaimed together. 

She crossed her arms. “I’m  _ not _ quitting.” 

More shivers spread through Gray’s bones, and he began to understand what Loke meant about the magic being  _ flipped around. _ Tenrou Island was their sacred ground, it gave them a type of protection, boosted their magical abilities, even. But now… it was as if the magic had just turned against them. It even made it a little hard to  _ breathe.  _ “We need to head back to the camp,” he said. “Regroup with everyone and figure out what’s going on.” 

They wouldn’t have shot that flare unless something bad had happened. Someone was probably badly injured, or worse. Was Juvia okay? Were Natsu and Erza? He didn’t like being so separated from them. 

“Cana, I think he might be right.” Lucy glanced around the forest, then laid a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Something’s… off.” 

Loke nodded. “Cana,  _ please. _ It isn’t worth it.” 

She scoffed. “I’m not failing again.” She shrugged off Lucy’s hand, and marched off into the trees. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gray asked, staring after. “I mean, I wanna win too, but I’m not gonna worry about finding some damn grave when someone could be  _ hurt.”  _

Loke groaned. “Cana…” 

Lucy glanced between Loke and Cana. “I’m gonna go with her… She shouldn’t be out here alone.” She tried to follow, but Loke grabbed her. 

“No,” he said. 

“What? Gray’s  _ right. _ Something’s wrong. Something dangerous could be out there!” she exclaimed. “We can’t just let her wander off by herself for her stubborn pride!” 

Gray was inclined to agree, and had half a mind to chase after her and drag her back to the camp himself.

Loke shook his head. “No, if this is how she wants to go about it, let her. Besides…” He pulled Lucy closer. “I think someone’s watching us,  _ not _ Cana.” 

* * *

Natsu protested as Evergreen and Elfman pulled him away from the forest of dead trees. 

“That man was deranged, there was a wave of unfamiliar magic,  _ and _ the signal flare just went off,” Evergreen said. “We’re  _ going _ back to the camp, Natsu.” 

He whined, wanting nothing more than to chase after that black wizard. Because not only did he seem to be an enemy, but whatever magic he’d used had turned his scarf  _ black!  _ What the  _ fuck!?  _

“It’s weird he knew your name though,” Elfman said. “You sure you never met him before?” 

Natsu finally broke out of Evergreen’s hold, but continued to tail after them. “No.” At least, he didn’t  _ think _ so, and he didn’t want to tell them about the odd, familiar feelings that man had stirred in him, like Natsu  _ should _ know him, but just couldn’t put all the pieces together, for some reason. 

“You sure?” Happy asked as he rested on Natsu’s shoulders. “Your memory  _ is _ kind of terrible.” 

He shook his head. “It ain’t  _ that _ bad. And I’m  _ sure.” _ He had to be sure. He couldn’t  _ not _ be sure. Because if he knew that man… what did that  _ mean?  _

“Shit!” Evergreen whirled around and tackled Natsu and Elfman to the ground as black fire tore through the air above them. 

Natsu rolled to switch places with Evergreen, snapping his wings out to better shield his guildmates from the fire. “Go!” he shouted, standing up as the fire faded away. “Get back to the camp! Happy! Find Charle and Lily and go hunt everyone else down! Make sure they’re safe! Find  _ Wendy!”  _

“Aye sir!” Happy’s wings appeared and the exceed shot into the sky. 

A blonde man with wild red eyes stepped out of the trees, with that black fire swirling around his arms. 

Natsu ignited his own fire. 

“We’re not just going to leave you!” Elfman argued. 

“Come on,” Natsu said, turning back to grin at him. “It’s  _ fire. _ That’s my specialty. I’ll catch up with you as soon as I’ve dealt with him.” 

Evergreen nodded. “He’s right. He’s the best one to deal with this. Let’s go.” She grabbed Elfman’s hand, and pulled him back into the trees. 

“Bold move, sending your allies off like that,” the man said. “As soon as I’m finished with you, I’ll just hunt them down, one by one.” 

Natsu snarled. “Who the hell are you? You with that damn black wizard?” 

The man’s eyes narrowed, then widened as he cackled, a high, manic sound that grated against his sensitive ears. “Why yes,” he said. “I  _ am _ here because I want to resurrect our dark lord, the black wizard Zeref.” 

Natsu tensed, and tried to swallow back the smoke building in his lungs. “Zeref,” he muttered. That  _ damn name _ was back. “So you’re like Jellal?” 

The man rolled his eyes. “Jellal was just Ultear’s fucking puppet, and she couldn’t even get him to work right. We’re  _ nothing _ alike.” 

He bared his teeth.  _ Ultear’s puppet?  _ So Erza was right? He’d been possessed? He shook his head. He could deal with that later, tell her the name of who had broken her friend’s mind. No doubt she would enjoy hunting them down and tearing them to pieces. 

But if these people were here to try and bring back Zeref, even if it was impossible, because the dead couldn’t be brought back to life, they needed to be stopped. Was that why the flare had been shot off? Why the magic in the air had grown heavier? Had other members of Fairy Tail been attacked? 

He willed his fire hotter and flexed his claws. He needed to end this quickly and find everyone else. He  _ couldn’t  _ let his friends and family be alone on this island with the enemy crawling all over it. 

The man continued to laugh. “You think that pathetic dragon fire is going to hurt me,  _ Natsu Dragneel? _ You fucking fairies are  _ nothing.” _ The black fire in his fists exploded outward, coating his entire body. “What can you do against the flames of a  _ God slayer?”  _

Natsu had never heard of a  _ God slayer, _ but he couldn’t say he was impressed. How was a god more difficult to slay than a dragon? “Who are you? Are you part of a guild?” 

He desperately tried to remember some of the dark guilds Gajeel had mentioned dealing with when he was in Phantom Lord. God, he wished he paid more attention to things. 

He’d been thinking ever since his fight with Gildarts and…. He  _ couldn’t _ just go charging into things headfirst, without any information. 

“Zancrow of Grimiore Heart,” he said, holding a flaming hand to his chest. His manic grin widened. “Now let’s get this over with,  _ fairy.”  _ He thrust his arms out, sending a wave of black flame towards him. 

Natsu almost laughed. Fire couldn’t  _ hurt _ him! 

But then the flames came into contact with his skin, and he  _ screamed. _

Heat bit into his flesh, burning and burning and  _ burning.  _ He hadn’t burned in so long! When was the last time he even  _ had?  _

He wrapped his wings around his body, desperately trying to shield himself from the pain, but the fire refused to relent, searing even the diamond hard scales that covered his wings, leaving his body to blister and sear. 

As he screamed, something flashed in his mind, a memory, of burning. 

He’d never burned like this though. 

Had he? 

Zancrow’s laughter and taunting snapped his concentration away from his warring thoughts and confusion. “Aw, come on, dragon. Is that all you’ve got? You’re gonna go down after  _ one _ hit?” 

He snorted out a puff of smoke as the black flames flickered away. He didn’t look at the damage, didn’t look at the burns littering his entire body. He could deal with that later. 

He sent a breath attack towards the man, figuring that his fire would hurt him just as much. 

Zancrow didn’t even flinch as the flames washed over him. He just rolled his eyes. “Pathetic.” 

Natsu growled.  _ Of course _ it wasn’t going to be that easy. He glanced down at his claws as he forced them to flex, and ran his tongue along his teeth. 

It wasn’t like his fire was the only weapon he had. 

* * *

Mirajane glared at the man who stepped out of the trees, knowing immediately he was the one responsible for trapping their Master, and for the strange shift of magic in the air. “Who are you?” she asked as she held her arm protectively in front of Lisanna. “What have you done with our Master?” 

The man smirked. “Ah, Mirajane Strauss, the She-Devil, if I’m not mistaken? And Erza Scarlet, Titania. It must be my lucky day.” 

Next to Mirajane, Erza tensed. “Answer her question. How  _ dare  _ you intrude upon our sacred land!” 

“I am Azuma, of Grimiore Heart, and this island obeys me now,” he said. 

Mirajane growled. “Erza, take Juvia and Lisanna and go find everyone else. I will handle him.” 

Erza shot her a wary look. “You’re sure?” 

Mirajane nodded. It was time to stop fearing her magic, stop holding back, and if there were other wizards here with the same amount of power that she sensed from this man, she didn’t have the luxury. “I’m sure.” 

“I’m staying, Mira,” Lisanna said. “I’ll fight with you.” 

“Lisanna—” 

“No!” she shouted as she shifted into a more cat-like form. “I can fight, too!” 

“Fine,” Mirajane relented. She wouldn’t deny her sister the right to fight if that’s what she wanted. “Go, Erz.” 

Erza pulled her into a quick kiss. “Kick his ass, babe.” She motioned for Juvia to follow her, disappearing into the trees with the water wizard. 

“That wasn’t a smart move,” Azuma said. “Though I admit, I am ecstatic to see the magic of the She-Devil up close.” 

Mirajane spared Lisanna a glance, but she had to trust in her sister’s abilities. She knew how to fight, she could handle herself. 

And she had to trust herself. Trust herself to not lose control while also going all out. She wouldn’t lose herself like she had when she fought Freed and hurt Erza, but she wouldn’t keep herself on a leash like she had when she fought Elfman and Evergreen. 

She could  _ do _ this. 

She took a deep breath. “Satan Soul.” 

Her body shifted, her power rising and swirling around her as she took off the restraints, forced her body to take in magic power like it used to. 

“Magnificent,” Azuma said, eyes widening in awe as her form settled. 

She grinned, making sure to show off her ferocious teeth. “You may wish you got to deal with Titania, rather than me.” 

Rather than replying, Azuma waved his hand and tree branches launched towards Mirajane. 

Lisanna bounded out of the way, flipping and twirling with the grace of a cat. But rather than dodge, Mirajane released her power, letting it tear through the branches, shattering them into millions of little splinters. “You’ll have to do better than that.” She shot forward, a dark blast of power building in her hands. 

She aimed to drive her palm and the dark energy into Azuma’s chest, but he bounded out of the way, calling more trees up from the ground. 

Mirajane tore through them with a cry of rage, wanting to sink her claws into  _ him, _ not this  _ goddamn wood!  _

Lisanna leapt from the branches, aiming a kick for Azuma’s head, but another branch wrapped around her middle, leaving her to dangle in the air like some sick toy. 

“Your sister’s not as interesting,” Azuma said as he examined her. 

Lisanna kicked and fought against the tree branches that continued to wrap around her, locking her in a sick cacoon, not unlike the Master’s. 

“Let, her,  _ go,” _ Mirajane snarled, her voice beginning to get warped and distorted. Before he could reply, she bounded forward, determined to land a hit on the person who  _ dared _ to harm her little sister. 

Azuma blocked every single one of her blows effortlessly, not even using his hands, just calling down trees and vines and vegetation, as if he couldn’t deign to actually  _ fight _ Mirajane. 

Not only that, but he refused to stray from where he’d captured Lisanna, content to dance around the mass of wood, because he  _ knew _ Mirajane wouldn’t risk a dangerous blast of power with her sister in the line of fire. 

“I must admit,” he said. “This is not as spectacular as I expected it to be, Mirajane. You worry for others too much.” 

She roared, gathering a mass of dark power in her hands. She was  _ going _ to land a hit, she was  _ going _ to win! She had to! For Lisanna, and Elfman, and Erza, and the Master, and the rest of their guild! She couldn’t be  _ poor, sweet Mirajane _ anymore,  _ just hiding from her scary magic.  _

She released the attack, smirking as it shot towards, Azuma, who would  _ not  _ be able to dodge in ti—

Why was he smiling? 

He flicked his fingers, and Lisanna’s prison shifted to shield him. 

Mirajane screamed and fell to her knees as her magic crashed into the branches, searing them away, hitting her  _ sister— _

Wood erupted from the ground, wrapping around her, encasing her. The last thing she saw before it covered her eyes, was Lisanna’s body hitting the ground. 

* * *

“Do you really think he’ll be able to handle that?” Elfman asked as they ran through the trees. 

Evergreen frowned, not wanting to admit that  _ no, _ she wasn’t sure. That man’s magic power was  _ intense, _ not to mention, something had seemed  _ off _ about Natsu. She’d noticed it back before the second portion of the test, but it seemed to have gotten worse after encountering that black wizard. “He’ll be fine,” she said instead. 

Elfman looked like he was about to argue, but an intense wave of magic careened through the trees before he could, throwing them both to the ground. 

Evergreen’s head banged against a rock, and everything blurred, spinning around in dull colors. 

“Ever!” Elfman exclaimed. 

Everything went dark.

* * *

Natsu grit his teeth as more fire blazed against him. 

Maybe getting close wasn’t a good idea after all. Zancrow’s fire was even more intense close up. 

He’d been pinned, forced down by the searing pain of the fire, and Zancrow’s foot on his chest. “Looks like this is it for you, fairy,” he said, the crazy grin never leaving his face. 

Natsu gasped as the flames intensified. He’d never felt much remorse for his victims before, but now that he had felt the rage of fire himself, he couldn’t believe that this was the pain he’d inflicted upon others. 

“I can’t wait to kill the rest of you,” Zancrow said. “You’re just the first. We’ve learned  _ all _ about you. There’s you, and the two other dragons,  _ oh, _ I hope I get to gut the little tiny one.” 

Natsu went rigid, every muscle in his body growing taut. 

Darkness nudged at the edges of his mind. 

“I can melt the metal one, and move onto the white-haired demon bitch. I’ll show her the flames of hell, prepare her for what’s coming when I kill her.” He laughed. “The Queen of the Fairies will _burn_, I’ll break the ice bastard into a million pieces. I’ll destroy them  _ all, _ Natsu Dragneel. And just know, that it was because your fire wasn’t as good as mine.” 

Fire blazed in Natsu’s chest, so hot and intense he became concerned it might burn him from the inside out. 

Zancrow leaned down. “Thanks for failing to protect them. I get to have a lot more fun because of it.” 

Something in Natsu snapped. 

He lunged upwards, and sank his teeth into Zancrow’s throat. 

* * *

Zeref almost broke down when another human approached him, her eyes wide with awe. He couldn’t  _ deal _ with this! Why were there so many wizards here!? 

“My lord… is that you?” she asked, creeping forward. “Zeref?” 

He sighed. She knew who he was. That was odd. “Who are you?” 

She held her hand to her chest. “I am Ultear, one of your most devout followers. I have worked to resurrect you for many years now. Please, you must come with me. I’m  _ honored—” _

“Leave me alone,” he interrupted. 

She faltered. “W-What?” 

“I said go,” he said, frowning. “Take your infernal guild and  _ leave. _ I am not dead, and I want nothing to do with you. You know nothing of what you actually want.” 

Her eyes narrowed. “My lord, I can’t just leave you. Something must be wrong with your mind.” 

He laughed bitterly. Oh, if only she knew. Though he suspected she meant something entirely different. “I said  _ leave.” _

Her gaze hardened. “I cannot do that.” 

“Then you will die,” he said. He could already feel the wave of death coming. It wouldn’t be long, and there was no way she could escape it at this range. 

She raised her hands in what he suspected was a stance for spell casting. “If you will not come willingly, I will take you by force. We will make everything right, my lord.” 

* * *

Blood splattered across Natsu’s face and slid down his throat, so hot, so full of  _ life.  _

Zancrow gasped and wheezed. His flames flared for just a moment, but Natsu no longer felt the pain from them. 

Then they began to fade away, flickering away to nothing as Zancrow’s eyes dulled and he collapsed against Natsu. 

When he no longer heard the god slayer’s heartbeat, Natsu finally let go of his throat, swallowing the blood that remained in his mouth. 

He glanced at his hands, at the blood that had splattered against them. He wanted  _ more.  _

He shoved Zancrow’s corpse off himself and staggered to his feet. He felt a dark pull in his chest, something insisting that he find someone,  _ kill _ them. 

He let out a breath, smoke flowing from his mouth as he stalked through the trees, his fire igniting, and blazing across the forest floor with every step. 

The darkness in his mind spread further, overtaking every part of him that knew he should go find his friends, protect them. 

He needed to kill him. 

He had to kill Zeref. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I marked how many more chapters are left in this portion of the rewrite! With ten more, Tenrou is going to be the longest arc yet, and I'm suuuuper excited for it. I hope you all enjoy what I do with it. I'm especially pumped for Erza's role, and to expand more on Mavis and Zeref. It's definitely going to be an interesting one. Thank you so much for all the support, and I hope you enjoy the last chapters of this work!


	41. Raging Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke fights against Capricorn, and Ultear faces off against E.N.D.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm so excited for this arc, I'm writing new chapters at a frightening speed, so here, enjoy the next one! At this rate, this portion of the rewrite will be finished within a week lmao

Loke tried to place the hostile presence he felt. He knew it didn’t belong to a human, he’d know the presence of another celestial spirit anywhere, warped as it may be. Whichever spirit they were, they were close. “You two need to get out of here,” he said, giving Lucy a little nudge. “It’s another spirit, let me handle this.” 

“We’re not just going to leave you to fight alone!” Lucy exclaimed. 

Loke turned to Gray. “Gray…” 

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, man.” He grabbed Lucy’s hand. “Come on. We’ll try and find everyone else, figure out what’s going on.” 

“But—” 

“Maybe we’ll even find Cana,” he said, dragging her away, refusing to take no for an answer. 

Loke let out a breath of relief as they disappeared into the trees, despite Lucy’s protesting. 

It’d been a while since he’d had to fight another celestial spirit. Mages that could summon them were rare these days, so combat between them was practically unheard of. But fights between celestial spirits were always intense, and it was always best to get others out of the way. 

He sensed the attack coming, throwing himself to the ground rolling out of the way just as a blast of power hit where he’d been standing just moments before. He got back to his feet, and sniffed the air, trying to place the scent of his attacker. “Capricorn?” 

* * *

“I don’t like leaving him,” Lucy muttered, expression sullen. 

Gray sighed. “He can take care of himself.” Loke was like a cockroach. Even if you thought the guy was dead, he’d come crawling right back. “Besides, he’s a spirit, ain’t he? Isn’t it like… impossible to kill them? Don’t they just pop back to the Celestial Spirit Realm, or whatever?” 

She shook her head. “Well, yes… but I don’t think it’s  _ impossible _ to kill them.” She sighed. “Look. Of course I’m gonna worry! He’s my boyfriend! Not all of us are emotionless bastards like you!” 

“Who said I wasn’t worried?” he asked. “But panicking ain’t gonna help me, or Natsu, Erza, and Juvia. And we have to trust them to handle themselves.” 

Lucy clutched at her upper arms. “I know, I know. But I just… I’m not used to this, okay? This is your  _ life, _ dangerous situations like this, life or death fights. I don’t really… do that.” 

Gray supposed he hadn’t thought of that. He  _ had _ grown numb and desensitized to things like this over the years. It wasn’t fair to expect her to handle this as well as he could. “Sorry, you’re right. But if it makes you feel any better, Loke and Cana kind of are?” 

“It absolutely  _ does not _ make me feel better that they put their lives on the line all the time!” she snapped. 

“Right…” Maybe he should expand his social circle. He was really bad at dealing with people that weren’t Natsu and Erza. “I just meant that they’re good fighters. They’re not going to die, and neither is anyone else.” 

“I hope not.” Then she laughed. “You know, ever since I can remember, I’ve looked up to Fairy Tail. And I always assume that all the stories about you guys were exaggerated. That you didn’t love fighting, and weren't _that_ destructive, and wild. Now I see, that if anything, the stories really undersell it. You guys really are something else.” 

“Took you six months to realize that?” he couldn’t help but tease. 

She scoffed and shook her head. “Of course not. It just becomes a lot more apparent in situations like this. You all  _ live _ for this. The thrill.” 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. But you’re not any better. After all, you’re still here, aren’t you? Any sane person would have fled the second Natsu hauled them back to the guildhall.” 

She smiled. “Maybe.” 

They lapsed into silence, and Gray tried not to focus on how much more intense the magic power in the air grew. He didn’t think Lucy noticed it. Ever since his demonic aspects had appeared, he’d been much better at sensing things, almost on par with the dragon slayers. The magic around them was  _ still _ changing, and all over the island, Fairy Tail’s power was diminishing. 

Something had happened to most of his friends, if not all of them. 

“If you think you can handle it, I think we need to split up,” Gray said. 

_ “What?” _ Lucy demanded. 

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not gonna just leave you if you’re really freaked out or think you can’t handle yourself if something happens, but we  _ need _ to find other members. Something’s gone wrong with most of them, I think. We can do that a lot faster if we split up.” 

She glanced between him and the forest, and for a second, Gray thought she was going to ask him to stay. But she took a deep breath, and said, “I can handle it. Go. You’re right.” 

“You’re  _ sure?” _ he checked. 

She smirked. “Just because I tend to stay away from fights, doesn’t mean I  _ can’t _ fight. Trust me, I can handle myself. Besides, I need to find Cana. You go find your friends.” 

He nodded. “Thank you. And take care of yourself, Lucy.” 

She motioned for him to go. “Yeah, yeah. Now go.” 

They ventured off in opposite directions. 

* * *

“Ah, Leo. It’s been a while,” Capricorn said, finally revealing himself. 

“That it has been,” Loke agreed. “I haven’t seen you around. You have a contract with someone?” He hoped Capricorn was the only spirit the wizard had a contract with. He didn’t  _ know _ of any exceptionally powerful celestial spirit wizards other than Lucy, not since that member of the Oracion Seis had lost her keys, but he could be mistaken. 

Capricorn didn’t answer, just shook his head. “You’re still parading around as a human. When will you learn not to fraternize with them? I’ve heard you’re even involved with your master.” 

Loke grinned and shrugged. “What can I say, Cap? They’re a lot cuter than any of you.” He raised his hands, letting light build in his palms. “But if we’re going to do this, let’s get it over with.” 

He’d never been exceptionally close with Capricorn, but he didn’t relish in the idea of fighting one of his fellow Zodiac spirits. He was their  _ King, _ he was supposed to protect them, dammit! But Lucy, Cana, and his guild came first now. He had a master, and he was still a Fairy Tail member. His fellow celestial spirits weren’t the priority anymore. 

Capricorn wasted no time in attacking, seemingly having none of the same reservations as Loke. 

He easily dodged Capricorn’s attacks, the best any of them managed to do was graze him. He was King of the Celestial Spirits, after all. His power had returned in full several months ago, and really, the other spirits were no match for him. 

“Regulus Impact!” The blinding light slammed into Capricorn, throwing him against a boulder. Loke surged forward to pin him against the stone. “Don’t make me get any more violent than we need,” he requested. “I’d rather not hurt you bad enough you end up back in the Celestial Spirit Realm to heal.” 

Capricorn sneered. “You’re powerful, aren’t you?” 

Loke blinked, confused.

Capricorn’s form flickered, and another spirit seemed to  _ peel out of him,  _ shimmering to life before Loke’s eyes. 

He stumbled backwards.  _ Possession?  _ He didn’t even know spirits could get possessed! 

“A lot more powerful than that goat,” the flickering form said, before grabbing onto Loke and merging with him. 

His body locked up as the spirit melded with his body, taking away any control that he had. He could only watch in horror as his body lurched forward, and grabbed Capricorn by the throat. Light built in his free palm, ready for an intense attack. “I appreciate you letting me use your body,” his mouth said. “But this one is a lot better.” 

The light exploded from his hand, only for Capricorn to reflect it back. 

Loke wasn’t sure if it was him, or the wizard possessing him, who screamed as the power collided with his body. 

The wizard was thrown out of his body, whether because of the power of a Regulus Impact, shock, or that he hadn’t had a good grip on his body to begin with, Loke wasn’t sure, he was just thankful. 

Within seconds, the wizard’s intangible spirit dissipated, leaving just Loke and Capricorn. “What the hell was that?” Loke demanded. 

Capricorn staggered forward and placed his key in Loke’s hands. “Give that to your master. I know you wouldn’t serve someone who wasn’t worthy,” he said, before his form flickered, and he was pulled back to the Celestial Spirit Realm. 

Loke could only stand there, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. 

He shook his head. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, he could talk to Capricorn later. He pocketed his key, and turned back to the trees. 

He needed to find Lucy and Cana. 

* * *

Erza didn’t like leaving Mirajane and Lisanna alone to fight a wizard with magical power that strong, but she had to trust them. If Mirajane wanted to handle it alone, Erza didn’t have the right to stop her. Especially not after she had struggled with her magic for so long. 

Besides, dark magic was spiking all over Tenrou. There was no way that man was their only opponent. She felt Fairy Tail’s magical power being smothered out everywhere. Just how many enemies were there? 

“Get down!” Juvia tackled Erza to the ground, narrowly avoiding the glowing swords that shot through the air above them. They rolled across the forest floor, limbs tangling together. Juvia was the first to her feet, standing protectively over Erza. 

She groaned, disoriented. “Juvia?” 

The water mage settled into a fight stance. “Keep going, Lady Erza. I will handle this.” 

Erza raised her head to see a wizard with bright pink hair approaching. She pushed herself back to her feet. “You sure?” 

Juvia gave her a curt nod. “Of course. Please. Go find the other members. I will handle her.” 

“Good luck.” Erza turned and sprinted through the trees. 

Juvia was right. Someone needed to find out where everyone was, how many enemies there were, and who could still fight. 

The enemy was smart to attack while they were separated like this. No one could share any information. 

Besides, even though Juvia may have failed her examination, she was still a plenty strong wizard. Erza had no doubt that she could hold her own against that girl. 

* * *

Natsu wasn’t  _ quite _ sure where he was going. His body seemed to be moving on its own, being tugged along by some strange force he couldn’t place. 

Fire raged around him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. So what if everything burned? All he cared about was killing Zeref. That was the only thing that mattered. He had no other purpose. He had been created for one thing, and one thing only. 

_Zeref must die._

* * *

Ultear wished she hadn’t had to fight Zeref, but part of him simply  _ must _ have been locked away. There was no way that this weak, timid man was the true form of their dark lord. He hadn’t even managed to defend himself against a handful of her attacks. 

She hefted him over her shoulder. She could get him back to the airship, and they could get this all sorted out there. Perhaps Jellal had halfway succeeded? Maybe he had managed to partially resurrect Zeref before those fucking fairies interrupted, and this was the result. 

She stumbled beneath his weight, and she hoped she ran into another member of Grimiore Heart. She doubted she would be able to make it all the way to the airship with him alone. 

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she dived out of the way, throwing Zeref to the ground and shielding him with her body as a wave of fire blasted through the forest. She cried out as the intense heat blazed against her skin. 

An unearthly roar had her covering her ears, and she curled against Zeref, determined to protect him from whatever this was. 

She dared to lift her head, and couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped her. 

A man stood surrounded by the flames, staring at her with cold, dead eyes. Her breath shook as she took in his massive wings, the scales on his arms and face, and the demonic markings crawling up his arms and neck. 

“E.N.D.,” she breathed, eyes widening in awe as she found herself face to face with her dark lord’s most powerful creation. Had he come looking for his master, much like she had? 

She didn’t miss his resemblance to Fairy Tail’s Natsu Dragneel. Were they one and the same? They  _ must _ be. But  _ how?  _ What did that mean? 

“Move,” he told her, his voice warped and distorted. 

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What?” 

But she had been lucky E.N.D. gave her even that much of a warning. He surged forward, claws splayed and fire building in his palms. 

She squeaked, and just barely managed to shift herself and Zeref out of the way. “What are you doing!?” she cried. Why was he trying to kill their dark lord? 

Had Fairy Tail somehow turned E.N.D. against them? But that didn’t make sense! The Etherious couldn’t be swayed in their loyalty to their master, so what was  _ this?  _

He whirled to attack them again, and this time, Ultear couldn’t move fast enough. E.N.D.’s claws sank into her abdomen, and the fire blazing in his palms seared her. She screamed as he threw her, like she was some kind of doll. She arced through the air, before colliding with a tree, and crying out as her spine cracked and she hit the forest floor. She pressed one hand to her bleeding stomach and crawled back towards Zeref. “No!” 

E.N.D. lifted Zeref’s limp body and slammed him against a boulder. He dug his claws into his chest, tearing into his flesh. 

_ “No!”  _ Ultear forced herself to her feet and tackled the demon, sending them both to the ground. She pressed her palm to his face before he realized what was happening, and sent a concentrated burst of power directly into his face. 

She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her stomach as she collapsed next to Zeref and used her Arc of Time to heal the massive tears in his chest. 

E.N.D. snarled and shook his head, clawing against the swaths of flesh and loose scales her attack had peeled away. “I said get out of my way…” he muttered as he staggered towards her again. 

Ultear hunched over Zeref. She  _ would not _ leave him to die, though she knew she could not win against a demon this powerful. 

Fire swirled around E.N.D.’s fist as he pulled it back, and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable blow. 

_ “Natsu!”  _

* * *

Lucy sprinted through the raging fire, praying that her clothes didn’t go up in flames. This had to be Natsu, right? These were  _ his _ flames! Why was he burning the entire fucking island to a crisp!? 

She sprinted further into the flames, determined to find him. He was one of Fairy Tail’s best fighters, if she could find him she’d definitely be a lot better off, and maybe he could use his sense of smell to find everyone else. 

A roar that sent shivers down her spine, followed by screaming, echoed over the forest. She forced herself to run faster, despite the smoke that burned in her throat and made her eyes tear up. If she didn’t get out of this fire soon, she was going to be in some serious trouble. 

She leaped through a wall of fire, and screamed,  _ “Natsu!”  _ before she could stop herself. 

Natsu froze, though he did nothing to stop the fire that swirled around them, and didn’t take his eyes off the girl that cowered at his feet, slumped over the body of another person. 

Lucy took a hasty step back. Goosebumps raced over her skin as she felt the dark, menacing aura around Natsu. 

Was this a rampage? She’d heard of them, been warned about them, but never actually seen one. If this was what it was,  _ nothing _ anyone had described was accurate, or did her a bit of good. 

_ Just stay out of his way, _ had been most people’s advice.  _ Let him take out whatever enemy he’s locked onto. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.  _

Well that ship had already sailed. He knew she was here, even if he wasn’t looking at her. 

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, the girl lunged upwards and shot a blast of magic into his face. 

Natsu shrieked and stumbled backwards a step, rubbing at his eyes. 

The girl forced herself up onto shaky legs and began to drag the unconscious man away. 

Lucy had never spent much time around Natsu, and she could admit, that he was  _ scaring  _ her. This fire, the hate and rage she felt from him… Who in their right mind  _ wouldn’t _ be scared!? 

But he was her guildmate, and he’d just been injured. Besides, what was it Loke and Cana had told her that one time? Natsu  _ could _ be snapped out of rampages if someone he knew tried to calm him down, and distract him from whatever he’d been previously fighting. 

So Lucy took a deep breath, and stepped forward. She could do this. She could snap him out of this before he ended up accidentally hurting her, or another friend.

“Natsu,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice calm and steady. 

He stiffened, and pulled his hands away from his eyes, but he still wouldn’t look at her. 

“Are you hurt?” she asked. 

His fists clenched and unclenched, his claws flexing with each movement, but at least he was starting to turn his attention towards her. 

“I need you to talk to me,” she said. “You need to tell me what happened, and try to calm down, get this fire under control.” She took another step forward. 

The girl cried out as she tripped over a branch and fell onto her companion’s body. Natsu’s head snapped towards her as he snarled. 

“Hey, no!” Enemy or not, that girl didn’t deserve to get gutted and fried. Besides, she looked far more interested in fleeing than hurting anyone else. Lucy closed the distance between them. “Look at me, Natsu! Look at  _ me!”  _ She reached up to grab his chin, wincing at how hot his skin was. “You need to  _ snap out of it!”  _

She couldn’t stop the gasp of fear that escaped her as he finally turned his head to look at her. 

Dark markings wound up his neck and across his cheeks. His eyes were empty of everything except rage. Blood coated his chin and chest, stained his teeth. Patches of his skin and scales had been torn away, presumably by that girl’s attack. 

She squeaked when he grabbed her shoulder and leaned closer. “Lucy?” 

She forced herself to nod, and tried to ignore the terrifying snarl in his voice. “Please,” she said. “You’re going to hurt someone.” 

“Zeref,” he muttered, tightening his grip. “I have to kill Zeref.” 

Lucy winced as his claws dug into her skin. “No, you don’t.” She wasn’t even really sure who Zeref was, but she knew the last thing Natsu, or anyone else needed, was for him to take off after some enemy while he was this unstable. 

God, she wished someone who knew him better was here. Erza, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel,  _ anyone _ other than her, really. 

He bared his teeth, and his grip on her continued to tighten. The crazed look in his eyes only grew wilder. 

Okay, so this clearly wasn’t working. 

What was it Cana had said?  _ If he snaps and all else fails, bash him upside the head. He’s fine when he wakes back up.  _

Lucy held her breath, and  _ prayed _ that her hit would be strong enough to knock him out, because she  _ would not _ survive if he decided to attack her. 

Slowly, she grabbed her whip, and before he could realize what she was doing, bashed the butt of the weapon into his temple. 

He collapsed, and the fire died away. 

Lucy fell to her knees and almost sobbed with relief. She was  _ definitely _ going to make him pay her rent for next month for freaking her out like that. 

It was only then that she remembered the girl and the wizard she’d been dragging away. She looked up, only to discover they had both vanished. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I had Lucy confront him, I can't have everyone figuring out he's a demon just yet, come on, guys. It really is tragic that she won't realize that wasn't normal so they can figure everything out ;)


	42. Water Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia battles Meredy, and Gray comes face to face with Ultear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh.... guess I really am going insane with the updates. This is the third one in the span of roughly twenty four hours like holy shit 
> 
> (Also I do not pre-write anything, as soon as it's written I post it, so yeah. I'm losing my mind rn) If only I had this motivation for life in general lmaooooo

Tenrou Island was in turmoil. 

It  _ must _ be, if even  _ she _ could sense something was off with the land and the magic. Cana was absolute shit at sensing magical pressure and power. 

But she didn’t care. She’d failed this test so many times. So many times that it was humiliating. Not to mention that most of her opponents this year were people she’d  _ grown up _ with. If they passed and she didn’t, all it proved was that they really  _ were  _ better than her. 

That… and stupid Gildarts. Her  _ stupid, fucking father! _ How was she ever expected to tell him she was his daughter when she was this big of a failure? When all she was was a useless drunkard? It was laughable! 

So if she had to win by ignoring the chaos going on around her, then so be it. Fairy Tail never had been too fond of  _ rules.  _

She pushed aside branches and undergrowth, venturing further inland. The forest grew thicker, and she sensed the presence of more animals nearby. The swirling magic power of conflict was fading, so she must be moving away from the battles. 

That… or they were losing, her senses weren’t sharp enough to tell. 

She hoped it was the former. As much as she wanted to win, she didn’t want anyone to get injured, or god forbid,  _ die _ because she was so determined to get the rank of S-Class. 

All she had to do was find the grave. Find the grave, pass the trial, and then she could join the fighting. 

The First Master’s grave was nearby, she could  _ sense _ it. 

Almost as if Mavis was waiting for her.

* * *

Gray winced as intense magical pressure exploded across the island. It made his head ache, and his markings began to tingle. “What the hell…” He pressed his hand to his head and leaned against a tree. He felt his own magic power rise up in retaliation. 

The magic felt similar to Natsu’s, but it couldn’t be his. It was much too dark. 

He shook his head, and did his best to ignore the feelings and head towards the magic. He needed to find other members of the guild, and he couldn’t do that if he was getting worked up by just  _ sensing  _ someone else’s magic. 

He crept through the forest, desperately trying to pin down the locations of the magical bursts. “Maybe I should talk to someone about learning how to sense this shit better…” he muttered. “Maybe even Natsu.” His hearing and smell had gotten a little better, but he hadn’t mentioned it, since it was only marginally. But maybe he should have. Maybe learning how to use his senses better would have really helped in a situation like this. 

Up ahead, the underbrush rustled, and Gray dived behind a tree. 

“I’m gonna kill Hades,” someone said. “How could he  _ miss _ something like that! I almost fucking died!” 

Gray peered around the tree, to see a girl stumbling through the forest, with another person awkwardly thrown over her shoulder. He didn’t recognize her, so he assumed she was an enemy. 

He called on his magic, preparing to attack before she noticed his presence, but after she got closer, he froze. 

_ Ur…  _

The resemblance was uncanny, even beneath the injuries and grime that covered her. She stumbled, just barely catching herself before falling. 

He frowned, and grabbed at the tree trunk so tightly his fingers ached. Why did this girl look so much like his master? 

She was obviously injured. Blood soaked through her clothes, and burns littered her body, not to mention her limp and the little pained noises that escaped from between her clenched teeth. 

There was also the man slung over her shoulder, who didn’t look like he was going to be waking up anytime soon. 

_ She’s probably heading back to the rest of her group, _ he realized. If he followed her, he might be able to figure out their plans. Or at the very least, how many of them there were. 

His reluctance to attack definitely had nothing to do with her resemblance to Ur. 

* * *

“Wha-What’s going on?” Mest asked, trying to get his bearings back. 

“Ah, Doranbolt. Good to see you again. What’s Fairy Tail up to out here?” 

Mest blinked, trying to place the council member that now stood before him. He was familiar, definitely. So why couldn’t he remember him? 

“Wait…” He pressed his hand to his head. What was going  _ on? _ Why wasn’t he on Tenrou anymore? He needed to go back! Something was happening! Wendy was in danger! 

He was on a boat, he realized. And in the distance… was Tenrou! “What’s going on!?” he demanded. Why was the magic council here? What did they want with  _ him? _ With  _ Fairy Tail?  _

The council members groaned and began to complain. 

“I fucking hate his stupid memory magic.” 

“This would be so much easier if he didn’t insist on hiding his memories.” 

Mest frowned. “I need to get back to Tenrou! Fairy Tail is in danger!” 

The council member who had first spoken patted his shoulder. “They are not our concern. Now, let’s get you sorted out so you can tell us what you know.” 

* * *

“I see you are a member of Grimiore Heart,” Juvia said as she dodged another round of the wizard’s blades. 

The girl sneered. “I didn’t think you fairies deigned to associate with members of dark guilds.” 

Juvia rolled her eyes. She’d recognized the guildmark as soon as she caught a glimpse of it. Though Phantom Lord hadn’t  _ technically  _ been a dark guild, they were close enough. They’d dealt with a lot of dark guilds, too. 

Of course, Grimiore Heart hadn’t been one of them. They were the elite of the elite, in the world of dark guilds. So even though she had never worked with or for them, Juvia had heard of them, and even met a few members. “I wasn’t always a fairy, you know.” 

“Oh no?” The girl raised an eyebrow, not surprised by the information at all. In fact, she looked rather smug. 

Juvia frowned. She was fairly certain she’d seen the girl tailing around after Ultear Milkovich. Fuck, what had her name been? “I used to be with Phantom Lord.” 

She scoffed. “The guild that was too cowardly to actually become a dark guild.” She waved her hand and more glowing blades appeared. “That’s not nearly impressive as you think it sounds!” 

Juvia didn’t have time to dodge the blades this time, so she turned her body to water, bracing for them to pass through her. 

The blades connected with her, and she  _ screamed.  _ They passed through her, but still left intense, tearing pain in her stomach and chest, as if they had torn her open, rather than passed through her. 

Her body shifted back to normal, and she pressed her hands to her abdomen, expecting to find blood and holes, but there was  _ nothing,  _ though pain still tore at her insides. “What did you do?” she gasped. 

The girl leaned over her. “My attacks target more than your physical body,  _ Juvia,” _ she said. 

“How do you know my name?” she asked as she called on her power, forcing herself to ignore the pains in her chest. 

“Oh.” The girl smiled. “We know all of your names! We wouldn’t come here without learning about the best Fairy Tail has to offer! We’re going to have a very fun time killing you all!” 

Juvia frowned. “And I assume it’s all for your Dark Lord Zeref, isn’t it?” She had to keep her talking until the pain faded, and while she built up power for an attack. If her powers could harm her even when she made her body water, this could be a difficult fight. 

“Of course it is!” she said. “Master Hades and Ultear have worked so long to bring about his resurrection!” 

“Ah.” Juvia forced herself back to her feet as the last of the pain faded away. “So you  _ are _ the girl that always tailed after Ultear. Meredy, right?” What kind of magic had she had? Juvia  _ really _ wished she’d paid more attention to the Grimiore Heart mages the few times she interacted with them, and not brushed them off as crazy fanatics. 

“And  _ you _ are Juvia Lockser,” she said, completely unbothered by Juvia knowing her identity. “A member of the demon hunting Lockser clan. Not only that…” She took a step forward. “You’ve bonded yourself to a demon, haven’t you? I can  _ sense _ it.” 

Juvia stiffened. She didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at  _ all.  _ She and Gray could barely feel the bond between themselves, so  _ how _ did this girl feel it? 

“It’s interesting,” she continued as she took a step back and cocked her head. “I’ve always been interested in demon bonding spells, but it’s just so hard to find information about them. If only we didn’t have to kill you and I could study it. It’s between you and that demon hybrid Fairy Tail’s been keeping under wraps, right? Gray?” 

She growled. “You stay away from him.” 

Meredy’s gaze hardened. “I will not fail Ultear.” 

Juvia shot a stream of water towards the girl, planning to incase her in a bubble until she drowned, or at least fell unconscious. 

She sputtered and stumbled backwards, but countered the water with a blast of her own power. “I won’t lose to you!” she shouted. She sent more blades careening towards Juvia, that she just barely managed to dodge. 

She threw herself into a summersault, coming back up into a crouch and calling on the water in the ground to shoot up beneath Meredy, launching her through the air. “I won’t lose to you either,” she said quietly. 

Not when her friends were on the line. She needed to defeat Meredy here and now. 

She didn’t believe that Zeref could be resurrected. He was long dead, and the dead couldn’t be brought back, but that didn’t mean that Grimiore Heart couldn’t do a lot of damage while attempting to complete such ridiculous goals. 

Meredy rolled across the forest floor, but didn’t take long in getting back to her feet. She sent wave after wave of blades after Juvia. 

She dove out of the way, twirling and spinning to avoid her infuriating magic. But she couldn’t dodge it all. Stray blades burrowed into her body, never drawing blood or creating injury, but lacing her insides with layers of pain. She grit her teeth to keep from screaming as the pain intensified with each blade that she couldn’t dodge. 

“Fairy Tail really is pathetic,” Meredy taunted. “I can’t believe Ultear thought you were a  _ threat.”  _

Juvia growled. “You’re going to regret those words.” She needed her to talk again. That was all the opening she needed. 

“As if! Water could never beat my powers over bonds and pa—”

Juvia smirked and threw her hand out, forcing a stream of water inside Meredy’s mouth and down into her lungs. 

She coughed and grabbed at her throat as Juvia forced more water into her mouth and up her nose. Her eyes grew wide as her airflow was completely cut off. 

Juvia staggered forward, smiling through the pain in her chest. “You dark guild bastards aren’t the only ones with dirty tricks up your sleeves.” She hadn’t been a member of Phantom Lord’s elite team, or Gajeel’s best friend, without learning how to fight dirty. 

Rage flared in Meredy’s eyes, and she lunged forward to grab Juvia’s wrist. Pink runes shimmered to life, wrapping around her wrist. As soon as the runes settled, water bubbled up Juvia’s throat and shot out her nose. She gasped for air, but that only allowed more water to rush into her lungs. 

She pulled the water out of her throat, but more appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Even when she turned her body to water, she  _ still _ felt herself drowning. How was that even  _ possible?  _

Meredy managed to cough up a dark laugh, and weakly held her wrist up, showing off pink runes that matched her own. “Got you…” 

Juvia’s eyes widened, and she yanked the water back up Meredy’s throat and out of her lungs, leaving both of them sputtering and gasping for air. 

* * *

Gray fell to his knees, gasping and clawing at his throat as water poured from his mouth and nose. 

_ What’s going on? Is this a spell?  _ It had to be! How could he be drowning on dry land!? 

Each gasp for air only resulted in more water sloshing into his lungs. The world began to darken, and he clawed at the ground in his panic. Was this really how he was going to die? 

And then, just as mysteriously as it started, the water disappeared, leaving him lying on the ground, panting. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

* * *

“You linked us,” Juvia realized, holding her wrist up. “What a cowardly way to fight.” Linking spells were the  _ worst. _ But it wasn’t the first time she’d been subjected to them. Dark guild wizards  _ loved _ cheap shots like linking spells. 

Sure, she might incapacitate herself, but at least she would also take out an enemy for her guild, and that was all that mattered. 

Meredy summoned a blade, and held it against her chest. “This is for you, Ultear.” She plunged the dagger towards her chest. 

Juvia gasped and pounded her fist against her own hand. Meredy cried out and reflexively dropped the dagger. While she was distracted, Juvia sliced into her own thigh, and Meredy fell to her knees, gasping. 

“Idiot,” she breathed. “Every injury you inflict upon me or yourself, is felt by your precious bonded.” 

Juvia froze, just before she cut into her other leg. “What do you mean?” she demanded. 

Meredy sighed as she fell onto her hands and knees. “I had wished to kill him personally, with my own two hands, for taking away Ultear’s mother, but I suppose this will work as well.” 

As soon as the words left her mouth, Juvia felt the fear and confusion writhing around in her chest. She had assumed it was her own, but they  _ weren’t  _ her feelings. 

_ Gray.  _

He’d felt everything that she had, could feel her pain, and Meredy’s, and probably her cold anger, and Meredy’s… sorrow? 

“You aren’t here for Zeref,” she realized as she stumbled forward. 

“Stay back!” Meredy scooted backwards. “Stay away from me! I’m not afraid to end my own life for Ultear!” 

“This is for her… Not Grimiore Heart,” she said. “You love her.” 

“Damn link,” Meredy hissed. “Get away from me!” She threw a glowing blade towards Juvia, but she was so thrown, and weak, that it dissipated before it could connect with her. 

“You don’t want to fight…” Juvia’s eyes began to grow heavy, as Meredy’s exhaustion joined her own. But she couldn’t pass out. Not while they were still linked. If Gray was in danger and collapsed… 

Meredy froze. 

“If you don’t want to fight, lay down your weapons,” Juvia said as the dark mage finally allowed her to come closer. “Fighting without a cause is foolish.” 

“I’m fighting for Ultear!” she protested. 

“But Ultear doesn’t care,” she said, feeling Meredy’s own despair as she claimed to fight for a woman who would not do the same for her. “You know that.” 

“I…” Meredy’s eyes rolled back as she fell forward, and the pink runes on her wrist vanished. 

Juvia let out a relieved breath, then she collapsed. 

* * *

Gray gasped as the pink runes on his wrist vanished, the severe pain in pretty much every part of his body disappearing with them. 

What the  _ hell _ had that been? 

He forced himself up, but stumbled forward, snapping a tree branch. 

The girl he was following whipped around. “Who’s there?”

He cursed under his breath. He managed to bite down every cry of pain, and a fucking  _ tree branch _ was what gave him away? 

The girl set the man on the ground and settled into a fight stance. “Show yourself. I know you’re there, I can sense your magic.” 

Gray sighed. Well, there wasn’t much point in staying hidden now. She knew she was being followed, so she wasn’t just going to waltz back to her base. He stepped out of the underbrush. “Who are you?” he asked.

She frowned. “Gray Fullbuster.” 

He shouldn’t be surprised that she knew his name, but he found it odd that she began to relax her stance. “My mother’s pupil.” 

Gray’s eyes widened. 

* * *

Charle couldn’t find Wendy anywhere. She couldn’t even pick up her  _ scent.  _

She was sure she’d flown all over this damn island by now, and she could find no sign of the girl. “Lily, what if something terrible has happened?” 

“I’m sure we’ll find her,” Pantherlily assured her. 

_ “Charle!”  _ Happy shot out of the trees, clearly very distressed. “You’re okay! And Lily! I can’t find anyone else!” 

Charle frowned as he landed next to him. “Weren’t you with Natsu?” 

He nodded. “But he told me to go find everyone else, but I  _ can’t! _ It’s like everyone’s vanished!” 

The must be further inland,” Pantherlily said. “I don’t understand how the enemy got so far onto the island without being detected, however.” 

Charle began to pace back and forth. “Where was Natsu when you last saw him?” 

“Not too far from the big giant tree,” Happy said. “He was fighting some weird guy with black fire. Evergreen and Elfman were with him, but I think he sent them away, too.” 

“So we  _ are _ under attack,” she said. “It’s not just the magic of the island turning against us.” 

“Let’s keep searching,” Pantherlily suggested. “It’s the most we can do, at the moment.” 

* * *

By now, there were only two or three more Fairy Tail members up and fighting. Erza could feel as more and more of their magic diminished, the air smothering it out.

She tried not to think about what that meant for Mirajane. Was she one of the wizards still up? Or had that man defeated her? 

_ How _ could so many of their most powerful magic users have fallen? Just who was this enemy, and what did they want? 

“Ah, Titania,” a voice behind her said. 

Erza whipped around, coming face to face with the man that Mirajane had been left to fight. “What did you do to Mira?” she hissed, summoning her swords. 

Azuma sighed. “She wasn’t as good of a fight as I was expecting. I hope you perform better, Erza Scarlet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's really glossed over in canon that Juvia was a villain.... like it's kind of addressed with Gajeel, but Juvia was right there with him. So OF COURSE she picked up tons of dirty tricks and knows shifty people, and I'm gonna have fun expanding on that in the next part of the rewrite


	43. The Grave of the First Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cana discovers Mavis's grave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, my goal is definitely to finish this within the next week to week and a half. I'm definitely writing chapters super fast at the moment

The grave was nothing like Cana had imagined. 

She’d expected a big, grand memorial, and instead, she was greeted with a few slabs of stone, nestled at the base of a tree. Moss crawled over the chipped stone, and cracks ran through most of the grave’s pieces. Briefly, Cana wondered if she should try and clean up the memorial a little, but decided it wasn’t worth it. 

If the First Master had wanted to be buried alone, out in the forest, this must have been what she wanted her grave to become. 

“Do you really like being out here?” she asked as she approached. “Doesn’t it get lonely?” 

Cana wasn’t really one for sentimentality. Honestly, she didn’t really care if her body was thrown out to rot when she died. She hadn’t been to her mother’s grave since she had been buried. But something about this broken down memorial… it just left a melancholic ache in her chest. 

Perhaps it was because this place didn’t feel  _ empty.  _ There was something,  _ someone, _ here, she felt. Graveyards were devoid of a presence, they were lifeless. But somehow, Cana felt more of a person at this singular grave than she felt in a cemetery with hundreds. 

She kneeled down before the grave, and brushed her fingers against the surface. 

Hot pair seared through her fingers, and she jerked backwards. “What the hell?” 

The grave glowed where she touched it, but it soon faded. 

“What?” she demanded. “Am I not good enough for  _ you _ either? Not even good enough for a damn rock over a corpse?” She shook her head, not sure why she was surprised. 

Of course, the grave didn’t reply. Cana let her body slump, hesitantly reaching her hand out again, but she pulled it back. What was touching it again going to accomplish? What was  _ any _ of this going to accomplish? This grave wasn’t going to give her anything, and Tenrou was in chaos. 

She hadn’t  _ passed. _ No one else was  _ even _ taking the test. They were still better than her, and she was  _ still _ useless. 

She would never be anything else. 

* * *

_ “Cana!” Lisanna ran up to her, bouncing excitedly. “Did you hear? The Master is letting me, Mira, and Elf go on a quest by ourselves for the first time!”  _

_ “W-What?” Cana asked as she hopped out of her seat. “But you’re only eleven! And Mira’s only fourteen!” How were they being allowed to go on a quest  _ alone?

_ “Well, it’s not a very dangerous one,” she said. “But the Master said he was proud of the progress we’re making with our magic, Mira especially. So he said we don’t need chaperones for quests anymore, so long as he approves it.”  _

_ Cana did her best not to let her jealousy show. “Oh… well that’s great, Lisanna. I guess I’ll see you in a few days.”  _

* * *

_ “Yo, Cana. Wanna help me out on a job?” Gray asked as he held up a flier. “Erza’s busy and Natsu’s on house arrest for burning like, half a town or something, I don’t know.”  _

_ She took the flier from his hands, then sighed. “Sorry, I can’t help you out.”  _

_ “What? Why not? I’m running out of people to ask, you know! It’s not like you were my first choice,” he said, snatching the flier back. “And I know you don’t have anything better to do.”  _

_ Cana glared at him. Of course she hadn’t been his first choice. “I’m not allowed to go on jobs that have been marked life-threatening,” she said. “At least, not without a chaperone, and I don’t think  _ you _ count.”  _

_ “Oh. Well that’s fucking lame,” Gray said. “Why not?”  _

_ “The Master doesn’t think I’m  _ ready _ yet,” she said, ignoring the bitterness in her tone. “It doesn’t make sense! You guys are allowed to do whatever the hell you want!”  _

_ Gray shrugged. “Oh well. You’re only fifteen, Cana. Give it some time. I’ll just go ask someone else.” He wandered off to ask Levy to accompany him.  _

_ Cana huffed, propped her elbows on the table, and rested her chin on her hands. “You’re only thirteen…” The Master was  _ always _ claiming that she just  _ wasn’t ready _ for things, that her magic wasn’t advanced enough yet.  _

_ What was she doing so wrong?  _

* * *

_ “Master, why don’t you let me go on dangerous quests, or quests alone, like everyone else?” she asked one day.  _

_ The Master smiled and patted her shoulder. “Cana, you’re only fifteen. There’s no rush.”  _

_ She stomped her foot. “But you let everyone else! Mirajane’s my age and she gets to do whatever she wants! Erza and Elfman are a year younger and do, too! Natsu and Gray are only thirteen and can do pretty much whatever they want, and only need chaperones for certain things! Lisanna’s  _ twelve!  _ It’s not  _ fair!” 

_ He sighed. “I just feel that you don’t have the experience needed to do certain things,  _ especially _ on your own.”  _

_ “Why not!?” she shouted. “What do they all have that I don’t!?”  _

_ He gave her a sad look. “Do you really not understand it, dear? You know what the other children have been through. Your life has never been in danger, as it should be for  _ every _ child. There was nothing I could do to prevent the others from having to live through that, but you… You deserve to be safe, even if that’s not how you see it.”  _

_ She growled. “So what? Because someone tried to kill Gray and Erza they can do whatever they want? Because Natsu survived in the woods alone? Because Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna were driven from their home and lived on their own? How does that make sense!?”  _

_ “Yes, Cana. That is why. They know what it’s like to fear for their lives, and how to act in situations like that, because they have  _ experience, _ even though it breaks my heart,” he said. “But not only that, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Mirajane all already had magic, some of them had even been taught to use it, when they joined Fairy Tail, and Lisanna and Elfman weren’t far behind. You didn’t really hone your own magical abilities until you joined the guild.”  _

_ “So they really are better than me…” she muttered, hanging her head.  _

_ The Master shook his head. “No. That is not what I said. They have more experience, but that does not automatically make their skills better than yours. You’re an exceptional wizard for someone your age, I just want to give you a proper childhood. I can’t do that for the others, but I can do that for  _ you.” 

_ She glared at him. “Well I never asked for that.” _

* * *

_ She was sixteen when the Master finally allowed her the same freedoms with quests as he did everyone else, but by that point… she was too far behind. Dynamics had already been decided, teams chosen, trust in each other that could only be formed in intense situations that Cana simply hadn’t been a part of.  _

_ Erza, Natsu, and Gray had formed a team, and they did  _ everything _ together. So did Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna. Sometimes the groups worked together, but they never thought to include Cana. They’d just never considered it, since she had never been  _ allowed _ to help them in the past. _

_ Even Levy, who had joined a few years ago when she was thirteen, was more included than her, just because her family had given the guild their consent to let her do dangerous things when she was younger.  _

_ Cana was leaps and bounds behind everyone, so far behind that they almost seemed to  _ forget _ about her.  _

_ Well, she didn’t need them! She could go on quests alone.  _

_ She’d always done everything alone anyways, and this was no different.  _

* * *

_ Loke showed up when she was eighteen, and they’d immediately taken a liking to each other. By that point,  _ occasionally _ the people she’d grown up with asked for her help, or invited her on jobs, but it was rare.  _

_ So when this celestial spirit showed up and actually seemed interested in her, of course she’d latched onto him. She did  _ everything _ with Loke.  _

_ She was still behind everyone, but at least now, she had someone with her.  _

_ Had someone with her as she watched her childhood playmates become famous throughout Fiore, hailed as heroes and the most powerful wizards of the most powerful guild. It wasn’t that she wanted the recognition that they got, but she wished the world realized she had been here since the beginning, too.  _

_ She watched as Erza and Mirajane became S-Class. Watched as Natsu’s little sister became a more competent mage than her, blending in with their crew incredibly easily, even though she was at least  _ seven years _ younger than all of them.  _

_ Even recently, after Gajeel and Juvia showed up, they were included more than she was. It hurt a lot more than she was willing to admit.  _

_ Honestly… sometimes she wondered why she even stayed with Fairy Tail. Would they notice if she just left one day? Loke and Lucy might… but they were the only ones.  _

_ So when she was chosen for the S-Class exam that year, she was  _ determined _ not to lose again, to prove that she was just as worthy of being here as the rest of them.  _

_ She was so tired of being left behind.  _

* * *

The air grew heavy, as the last traces of Fairy Tail’s power disappeared. 

Cana took a shuddering breath. So they were losing, against whatever was going on… She wondered if she should go help them. 

But what could she do? If everyone who had always been so much better than her had succumbed to whatever dark power this was, what could she be expected to do?

She was selfish enough to leave them to fight alone, and too weak to win now that they were gone. 

She really was useless, wasn’t she? 

She stared at the grave. “Bet you’re upset that your guild allowed someone so pathetic to join, huh?” She forced herself back to her feet. 

Whether she would actually be able to save her fellow guild members or not, she couldn’t just sit here doing nothing. Loke and Lucy were in danger, and so were the people she had grown up with. As frustrated as they made her sometimes, she didn’t want to see them hurt. “I’ll see you around, First Master. Maybe lend us a hand, if you’re feeling up to it.” 

She turned, and shuffled down the stone steps, hoping her sense of magic was good enough to lead her back to the fighting.

“Cana Alberona.” 

Cana whirled back around to discover a shimmering form flickering on top of the grave. It wasn’t  _ quite _ a person, more like a vague outline that was doing its best to become tangible. 

“First Master?” Cana whispered, unsure of what else this could be. She’d never believed in ghosts, but she wasn’t dumb enough to dispute the evidence before her eyes. 

The golden lights that created the body on top of the grave flickered, before extending what Cana assumed was an arm. “Come here, Cana.” 

Unsure of what else to do, Cana approached the grave once more. “Are you really our First Master?” The ghost’s voice was so high pitched. Of course, she knew the First Master was a very small, petite woman, but it was still a shock to hear. 

“Indeed I am. I have to admit, that I am quite impressed with you, as well as the other mages I feel across the island.” Her form began to solidify, shifting from shimmering light to a small girl. 

Cana gaped. Their First Master was a  _ child?  _ She barely even registered what she had said. “Impressed?” 

She nodded. “You do not believe you will win, yet you still decide to go fight for your fellow guildmates.” 

She grimaced. “Yeah well, those bastards tap out, I don’t know if I’ll ever find anyone else willing to put up with me.” 

The First Master chuckled. “Yes… as wild and intense as Fairy Tail was when I was around, I have to admit, that this generation really is something else. Why do you think I’ve finally chosen to reveal myself, after all these years?” 

“Can you help us?” she asked, leaning forward. “Please, if you can… Fuck, I know I can’t save everyone by myself, and that’s some pretty bad dark magic I feel out there.” 

The First Master offered her a sly smile. “I’m afraid I can’t exactly interfere  _ directly, _ at the moment. But that doesn’t mean I will do nothing.” She reached out to grab Cana’s hand. 

Cana had half expected the First Master to pass right through her, but she felt exactly like flesh and blood. “I’m going to give you something special, Cana, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it.” 

A bright light flared, and Cana squeezed her eyes shut against the light. Once it faded and she opened her eyes, the First Master was gone, and shining runes covered her forearm. 

* * *

“Lucy!” Loke dashed forward as soon as he caught sight of her. “You’re okay! Woah…” He stumbled to a stop as soon as he realized how shaken she was, and that Natsu was lying at her feet, unconscious. “What happened?” 

“He… I think he snapped…” she muttered. “It was…” She shuddered. “I never want to see that again.” 

“Hey, hey.” He wrapped her arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “It’s okay. He’s not gonna hurt you now.” He was going to  _ kill _ Natsu for freaking out his girlfriend this badly when he woke up. “And if he tries, I’ll kick his ass.” 

She shook her head. “We need to keep moving. I don’t think that girl he was fighting was the only one around.” 

Loke glanced around. “What happened to Gray?” 

“We decided to separate, cover more ground. I haven’t seen him since,” she said. “Or anyone else.” 

He couldn’t say he approved of that decision, given the current situation, but there was nothing to do about it now. He kneeled down to pick Natsu up, and awkwardly slung him over his shoulder. It took a bit to adjust him, thanks to his wings, but Loke managed. 

“Come on.” With his free hand he held Lucy’s hand. “Let’s go. We can’t be the only ones still up.” 

They didn’t get far, just managed to get out of the burnt up part of the forest, when a heavy force slammed down on them from the sky. 

Loke hit the ground, and the pressure continued to increase. Lucy cried out, squeezing his hand far tighter than necessary. 

He tried to force himself up, but as he did, the magical power slammed down on him, and his body flickered away as he was pulled back to the Celestial Spirit Realm. 

_ “Dammit!”  _

* * *

“Loke!” 

How much pressure had been pushed against him, to force him back to the Celestial Spirit Realm? She tried to reach for her keys, but as the gravity shoved down on her, she was pushed into the ground, unable to move. 

She managed to look up, to discover another wizard staring down at her with cold eyes. 

Shivers ran down her spine, as she realized that she was completely at his mercy, unable to move, and unable to use her magic. 

And no one was coming to save her. 

* * *

Cana arrived just in time to see Loke’s body flare into golden light, and then disappear, leaving behind a weakly struggling Lucy, and Natsu’s limp form. She locked her eyes on the wizard responsible for whatever force seemed to have Lucy pinned, and charged. 

She wasn’t exactly sure what the magic the First Master had given her was capable of, but she felt the runes on her arm glow with power, and she knew it was capable of much more than any magic she could perform on her own. 

_ Fairy Glitter.  _

The name of the spell flared to life in her mind, like she had always known it, like the spell had been ingrained in her. 

She bounded over the rocks, flung her arm out, and shouted,  _ “Fairy Glitter!”  _

Magic power exploded within her, shining brightly enough she had to close her eyes as the spell blazed through the air. The runes on her arm burned with the power, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable heat. 

It felt  _ amazing!  _

When the light died away, Cana was overcome by dizziness. She swayed for a moment, before collapsing. “Fuck… guess I should have thought about how much that would take out of me,” she muttered. 

“Cana!” Lucy shouted. 

She tried to force herself up, only for pressure to shove against her, forcing her back to the ground. She gasped. 

“Where did  _ you _ get a spell like  _ that!?” _ the wizard demanded as he approached. 

She almost cried. Of course even a spell like that hadn’t allowed her to take down an enemy.  _ Of course.  _

Because she couldn’t do  _ anything, _ and now she was going to die, right alongside Lucy and Natsu. 

It just wasn’t fair! 

The wizard threw his hand out, and more pressure squeezed against her. Her bones began to ache beneath the weight. She would have screamed if she could force her mouth open. 

_ “Cana!”  _ Lucy screamed. 

Everything faded, but the last thing she saw was the ground breaking into little pieces, an infuriatingly familiar spell. 

_ Damn bastard, _ she thought.  _ Would it kill him to be punctual every now and then?  _

* * *

Soft tapping roused her, insistent and concerned. “Ever? Ever, please wake up. We can’t stop to treat a serious injury right now.” 

She forced her eyes open, wincing against the bright light of the sun. “Fr-Freed?” 

Freed let out a sigh of relief. “Bixlow! Elfman! She’s awake!” 

“Good. Get her up. We need to get to a better place to fight than this,” Bixlow said. 

Evergreen finally got her eyes to focus. Freed leaned over her, his brows creased with worry. “I thought… you two left?” They’d gone back to Magnolia after being eliminated, right? 

He sighed. “That was the plan, but then we felt the spikes of magical energy and decided we better come check to make sure everything was okay. And it’s a good thing we did.” He grabbed her hand. “Do you think you can stand or do you need me to carry you?” 

She shook her head and forced herself up. “I can walk just fine. I just hit my head.” 

“Yes, and head injuries are some of the worst you can get,” he argued. 

“Shut up, Freed. What’s going on? What happened?” She remembered that blast of power, but that was it. 

“Some dark guild bastard named Rustyrose attacked us,” Elfman said. “Bixlow and Freed really saved our asses. But I don’t think he’s going to be down for long, and this island is crawling with dark mages now.” 

Freed nodded. “We need to get moving before we get pinned down or surrounded.” 

“What about the other guild members?” she asked. 

He grimaced. “I don’t think anyone’s getting out of this unscathed.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter? Erza vs Azuma. It's one of my all time favorite fights in the anime, and I'm really excited for what I have planned for it, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do


	44. The Faerie of Fairy Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azuma challenges Erza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter So Much! And I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one. Ah, it was just so fun, and I'm really excited for the storyline it's starting and ugh, yeah, guess I'll just let you read it now.

“I  _ said, _ what did you do with Mirajane?” Erza repeated as she summoned her sword. “Are you the one responsible for my guild’s weakening power?” 

Azuma sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid the She-Devil just wasn’t up to facing me. I do have to say, the stories of her were greatly exaggerated. Or perhaps it was the kid sister she held back for.” 

Erza bared her teeth. “You fucking  _ bastard.” _

He smirked, and laid his hand on a massive tree root. “Are you aware of where we are?” 

Her snarled melted away into confusion. Surely he wasn’t asking if she knew she was on Tenrou Island, right? She was used to enemies insulting her, but she’d never heard such a convoluted way of suggesting she was an idiot. 

“We’re at the base of Tenrou’s Tree, the source of this island’s power, and what lends Fairy Tail its power,” he continued before she had a chance to answer. 

She narrowed her eyes. Obviously he possessed some kind of plant magic. Was that why he’d made his way to the massive tree? Would it somehow give him more power? 

She wanted to attack, but she still knew too little about the situation, too little about how his magic worked. 

“Such a shame to have to destroy it,” he said. 

Erza gasped and rushed forward, but she wasn’t quick enough to stop the blinding light, the immense power. 

A deep shudder ran through the ground, and she stumbled. Horrifying creaking and tearing rang out, and she fell into a crouch and wrapped her arms over her head. The entire island shook and groaned as the great tree collapsed, breaking into pieces and crashing to the ground. 

Branches and bark rained down over her body, and she had no idea how she had not been crushed beneath the tree or the debris that had broken off. 

The island settled, and she dared to look up. She couldn’t see that the tree had fallen due to all the pieces surrounding her. It was as if she were in a great forest, surrounded by so many trees they interlocked. 

But she knew it was just the now dead branches and trunk of the Tenrou Tree. 

The First Master’s homeland had just been demolished… 

And all over the island, the last of Fairy Tail’s magic power flickered away. “What did you do?” she whispered as she forced herself to her feet, leaves and pieces of wood cascading off her body. “What… did you  _ do?” _

Azuma stood in a ring of debris, not a single bit having landed on him. “We have orders to eliminate every Fairy Tail mage, and destroying the Tenrou Tree destroys your protection.” 

“You’re the one sucking away our magic power,” she realized.  _ He _ was the reason she felt their power fading all over the island. “But… not me?” she realized. She felt as strong as ever, not a single bit of her magic power had faded. 

Azuma smiled and turned his palms up. “I may be following orders, but I don’t approve of the methods. What is the point of winning, if you haven’t proved you're stronger than your opponents?” 

Erza grimaced, and summoned a sword once again. “So what? You’ve decided you want to fight me?” 

“I am intrigued by you,” he said. “Erza Scarlet, Titania, a Queen of Fairies. You’re a powerful woman, so I’ve heard. I’d like to know if it’s true. If I defeat Fairy Tail’s most powerful, then it proves that Grimiore Heart is stronger.” 

“So you wish to prove your strength?” That must have been why he sought out Mirajane, as well. He had a type of honor, that apparently the other mages of this  _ Grimiore Heart _ didn’t have. 

She could respect that, and she needed to fight him as well. 

She held her sword out. “Then fight me. But when I win, you must agree to return my guild’s power.” 

His smile widened, and Erza could sense the mocking beneath it. “Very well. If you prove to be stronger than me, your guild’s power will return.” 

She smirked, and requipped into her flight armor. She may respect him for his unwillingness to butcher them all when they couldn’t even fight back, but that didn’t mean she would humor him. 

She would end this quickly, then join her guildmates in ending the other mages that dared to fight them on their sacred land. 

She shot through the air, aiming a strike across Azuma’s chest. 

He disappeared, just before her sword connected, melting into the wood, and appearing in the branches above her. 

Erza hissed, but height wouldn’t save him from her. She bounded up the tangles of tree branches, twisting and flipping so that he couldn’t pinpoint her trajectory. Vines and branches writhed around her, trying to grab for her, to smash her out of the air. She dodged most, and what she didn’t, she sliced through with her sword. 

She swung at Azuma, only for him to melt into the wood again, and while she was focused on an offensive strike, a branched slammed into her from behind, smacking her into the ground. She gasped, and just managed to change into her strongest armor before a cascade of branches slammed into her from above. 

She pushed against her shield, breaking them and shoving them back, before requipping into her lightning empress armor, calling down a lightning attack, that Azuma easily dodged. She cried out as another branch sent her flying. 

Requipping into her flame armor as she kicked off a trunk, she tried a flame attack, not caring for how risky that was among so much wood and leaves, but it did nothing. 

She cried out in frustration, abandoning her sword, and leaping towards Azuma, fist pulled back. She much preferred to fight with a weapon, but at the moment, she had a feeling nothing would feel better than driving her fist into Azuma’s smug face. 

But with every hit that she managed to land, he retaliated with one of his own. He punched her across the jaw, and she feigned falling, to sweep his legs out from underneath him with a kick. As he dropped, he was absorbed into the wood again. 

“Dammit,” she hissed as she spun on her heel, trying to pinpoint where he would reappear this time.  _ His defensive abilities are too strong in this environment.  _ With this many plants, and this much wood, he had unlimited weapons, and an infinite amount of places to hide. She was never going to win if she kept this up.  _ I need to be able to cut through everything he throws at me at once.  _

Erza could take hits. She could take them and get back up. 

So she abandoned her armor, and put all her magical energy into her sword. “Come on,” she whispered. She was Fairy Tail’s last defense. This was not a battle she could afford to lose. “Come on.” 

Azuma appeared within the tree branches once again. “No armor?” he asked. “An interesting choice.” 

He was  _ far _ too entertained with their position, and it made Erza  _ angry.  _ She wanted to stab him through the heart, to completely gut him, to put his head on a goddamn pike! He’d captured her friends, desecrated their sacred land, he’d  _ hurt Mirajane.  _

“I will not lose,” she told herself. “I will  _ win!”  _ She sprang forward, her sword pulled back for a fatal strike. 

Her blade tore through the branches that spiraled towards her like paper.  _ “I will not lose to you!”  _

Just before her sword could cut through Azuma, a final branch sprung up, halting her blade halfway through it. She gasped. 

Azuma sighed. “You were entertaining, Erza, though perhaps not quite as formidable as I had been expecting.” 

“No…” 

He raised his hand, and the magic in the air shifted again, converging on Azuma. “Now feel the full force of Tenrou.” 

Light and fire exploded around her, and Erza  _ screamed.  _

* * *

Screams echoed through his head, and Jellal jerked awake. 

“Erza?” he whispered. 

A chill settled in the air, and he could sense the emptiness of the guildhall above him. It’d been like that ever since Erza and her friends had left for the S-Class exam. 

Why had he heard her scream like that? Was it a dream? 

He didn’t think dreams felt like that… 

Something ached in his chest, and he felt the marking on his face tingle. “What’s going on, Erza?” He held one hand against his heart, and brushed his marking with the other. “Are you okay?” 

He missed her. He wanted to see her. Was that what this painful feeling in his chest was? “Come back to me, Erza,” he said. “Whatever you’re facing… I know you can do it.” 

He took a deep breath. 

“Win.” 

* * *

Erza jerked awake, slung across the tree branches like trash. Her body ached, and she had a feeling she had at least a few fractures, and definitely some severe bruising. “Jellal?” she whispered. 

That was his voice. She’d heard his  _ voice, _ whispering her name, almost like a prayer. And then… 

_ Win. _

She grit her teeth, and fighting through the pain, gripped her sword tighter, and forced herself to her feet. “Turn and face me, Azuma.” 

She could not focus on Jellal now, not when so much was at stake. 

Azuma slowly turned on his heel. “You really are something else, Erza Scarlet.” 

She tensed, not liking her name coming out of his mouth like he knew her, like she  _ meant _ something to him. 

_ Scarlet like your hair.  _

_ Scarlet like the blood that she spilled.  _

She held her sword out. “We’re not done here.” 

He flung his hand out, the trees responding to the call of his magic. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

With a cry of rage, she cut through the branches. She forced her magic power to become stronger, more intense.  _ I will not fall. I am our last warrior, and I  _ will not fall! 

Azuma laughed as her blades tore through his wooden weapons. “Yes! Show me your true strength, Titania!” 

She gripped her sword so tightly her fingers ached. Her body burned and her muscles strained with each movement, but she would not fail, she would not fall. She would fight, and she would defeat this man. 

She was the Queen of Fairies, and she would protect those under her reign. 

She sliced through the last of the branches, and cut into Azuma’s shoulder, but he bounded backwards before any real damage could be done. 

“I admire you,” he said as he waved his hands and the trees wrapped around Erza before she had the chance to flee. 

She jerked against the wooden bonds. They squeezed so tightly it became hard to breathe. The branch wrapped around her wrist squeezed the tightest, but she  _ refused _ to drop her blade. She would let her bones be crushed before she relinquished her weapon. 

“I’ll never forget your name for as long as I live, Erza.”

That horrifying magic built in the air again, and the entire force of Tenrou Island, the protection that her guild was  _ supposed _ to have, was turned against her. 

“You’ve fought well,” Azuma said. “But this is where you fall.” 

He released his power, and that terrible golden light exploded, leaving Erza surrounded by the magic of Tenrou. 

* * *

“You blessed that girl, didn’t you?” Mavis asked, knowing the entity was there. 

She was  _ always _ there. 

“Don’t you think it’s time you told her? Reveal what you turned her into?” she continued. “What is the point in blessing her if you refuse to let her realize it?” 

She watched,  _ felt, _ as the power of her homeland was turned against her guild, her  _ fairies.  _ “They all have a little of your power. After all, that was the deal we made, all those years ago, wasn’t it?” She smirked. “But you liked her so much that you  _ changed  _ her. Whatever for?” 

That light blazed at the base of Tenrou’s Tree, a great golden sphere, power that should belong to her  _ own, _ not these dark mages who tailed after Zeref like a child following an older sibling who wanted nothing to do with them. How  _ dare _ they touch a power reserved only for her fairies. 

Mavis sighed. “If there was ever a time, this is it.” 

The magic in the air shifted again. 

“Tell Erza Scarlet why you made her Titania, our Queen of Fairies.” 

* * *

Erza hardly felt a thing as the magic settled around her. Maybe she had already died. Maybe this power had killed her as soon as it hit her, and this was the end. 

She’d failed. 

After the life she’d signed up for, she always expected to fall in battle, but not so soon, not after failing her guild, her friends, her  _ family.  _

She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry…” 

“Erza, why don’t you fight?”

Her eyes snapped open. That  _ voice.  _

Memories flooded back. Memories of that room in the Tower of Heaven, where she’d been taken to be thrown away. 

Memories of the woman who told her she could still fight, of the first time her body had truly flowed with power. 

No one was there, just that same light, but she felt the warm presence of that woman. “Who are you?” she breathed.  _ “What _ are you?” 

“All those years ago,” the voice said. “You told me that you did not fight because you had nothing. But that’s not true anymore. You have  _ so much.”  _

Erza took a shuddering breath. “I failed. You gave me power, and I still failed to protect them.” 

Jellal had been right. She’d been  _ given _ her power, just like he’d been given his, all in that room, where other things warred over them.

“You haven’t touched what I gave you,” the voice said. “Every bit of power you’ve used until now has been your own. I may have nudged it awake, but it is  _ yours. _ If you want the power I gave you as a child, you must decide why you fight. Truly decide.  _ Why _ do you pick up your blade, Erza?” 

Her fingers twitched, as if feeling for the weapon in question. “Because I have to, I fight to survive, to protect.” 

“No. Why do you  _ fight?”  _

Power unfurled in her chest. “I fight for my friends, for my guild! I fight for them, and they fight for me! I will not lose, because I want to see them again!” 

_ Natsu. Gray. Mirajane. Wendy. Levy. Cana. Gajeel. Juvia. Everyone else.  _

“You cannot die here, little Erza,” the voice said, and Erza swore she could feel a cool hand against her cheek. “Just like you couldn’t die in that tower, all those years ago. Show me why I chose you as my Queen of Fairies.” 

That power exploded in her chest. “I will  _ win!  _ Not to protect them, but  _ for  _ them!” Her sword reappeared in her hand, and Tenrou’s magic began to shift around her. “I fight for my friends!” 

Magic she had never felt before raced through her body, shaping her,  _ changing  _ her. Her sword blazed with power, and all the magic in the air bent to her will. 

“Win for them, Erza Scarlet,” the voice whispered as it faded away. “Become what I chose you for.” 

Erza screamed and raised her sword high. 

_ I will win for my guild. For Natsu and Gray. For Mirajane and Jellal.  _

The magic of Tenrou fell behind her, joining her own power, both the old and the new, launching her forward. 

“How?” Azuma gasped as the magic of Tenrou shifted for the final time, bending to its true master. Its Queen. “What are you?” 

Erza’s battle cry rang through the forest as her magic blazed across the island, as she emerged from the glorious explosion of magic, her eyes alight with a raging fire. 

She sliced through any magic Azuma dared to throw up in defense, tearing through it as easily as air. 

Her sword sliced through him, cutting him open from shoulder to hip. Scarlet burst from his body, spraying the forest in that beautiful color, staining it, just like the Tower of Heaven. 

Erza landed in a crouch, and slung the blood from her sword.

“I win.”

* * *

Magic raced across Tenrou, returning to the rightful wielders. Prisons of wood and vine splintered away into dust, releasing the captured Fairy Tail mages. 

Mirajane fell onto her hands and knees, gasping for air. 

“Mira!” Lisanna kneeled next to her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

Mirajane jerked back. “Do you feel that?” she whispered. That  _ power. _ She’d always been strong, but this was something else. This power level was  _ insane.  _

Across the clearing, the Master forced himself to his feet. “Erza…” he whispered. 

“Are you okay?” Mirajane looked over Lisanna, relieved her find that her magic didn’t appear to have horribly injured her sister. 

“I’m fine,” Lisanna assured her. Then she looked out into the forest, her eyes bright. “Go find her.” 

Mirajane scrambled to her feet and dashed through the forest.  _ Erza, what have you done? What have you become?  _

She’d never felt anything like this before. This inhuman magic, this pure, unbridled power. Not even from Natsu or Gray, whose magic was something entirely other from human magic. 

This was something else. Something otherworldly. 

She tore through the trees.  _ I have to find her. I have to find her. I have to find her.  _

She barely noticed the broken Tenrou Tree around her, the shattered remains of her sacred land, the rise in her own power levels and the other members of the guild all over the island. 

Finally, she arrived at the base of what had once been Tenrou’s Tree. The source of this new magic. 

She ran past the corpse of Azuma, sliced into so deeply that his organs leaked from the gash. 

“Erza!” she called.  _ Please be okay. Please, please, please.  _ If Erza was hurt, or had done something to herself through magic overuse, all because Mirajane couldn’t defeat an enemy, she didn’t know what she would do. 

“Mira?” a soft voice replied. 

Mirajane looked up, to see Erza kneeling on a tree branch above her, leaned against her sword. “Erza!” She climbed up the tree as quickly as she could. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

Her girlfriend didn’t answer, which only served to make her more worried. 

She heaved herself onto the branch, and sat on her knees in front of Erza. The first thing she noticed were the deep blue markings lacing up her arms and across her chest, almost like tattoos. 

Were they caused by this strange magic that radiated from Erza’s body? 

“Hey.” She laid her hand on Erza’s shoulder, causing her to twitch. “Are you hurt?” 

She shook her head. “Don’t… think so. I feel… strange, though. Different.” 

Mirajane nodded. “Something about your magical energy has changed.”  _ Your energy in general, _ she almost added. “Can you look at me?” 

She gripped her sword so tightly her hands shook. “I think something’s changed, Mira,” she whispered. “There was this voice, and I… I feel  _ different. _ My magic—”

“Please, just look at me, Erza,” Mirajane nearly pleaded. “Whatever happened, to you, or your magic, we will get it figured out.  _ Please.” _ Her voice shook. “Look at me.” 

Ever so slowly, Erza raised her head. 

Mirajane couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped her. A blue marking,  _ identical _ to Jellal’s, had appeared on her face. Her mouth hung open slightly, revealing fangs that could rival Natsu and Gajeel’s. Her ears had become pointed, jutting out from her hair. One of her eyes had turned bright gold, and had a slit pupil. The other remained normal, but Mirajane dimly noted that was the eye she had lost when she was younger. “What did I become?” Erza whispered. 

“I-I don’t know,” Mirajane admitted. She’d never seen anything like this, or sensed magic like this from anything, be it human, demon, dragon, celestial spirit,  _ anything.  _ “But you’re still my Erza,” she said as she gently took her sword from her hands. 

Erza collapsed into Mirajane’s chest, clutching at her dress. 

“You’re still Erza Scarlet,” she repeated. “And you saved us.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erza officially gets to join her two best buds in the "not human anymore club" 
> 
> Also, the same marking as Jellal, hm.... I wonder what that means? I''m really, really looking forward to this new plot line (though it doesn't really start until the next part of the rewrite, unfortunately) 
> 
> Finally, the strange entity that really likes Erza and Mavis appears to know? Yep, you're not getting any answers about her either yet
> 
> Until next time :D


	45. Revived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of Erza's defeat of Azuma, Fairy Tail gets their magic back and manages to regroup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a cool down chapter after the intensity of the last few

Lucy gasped as her magic flowed back into her body, giving her the strength to actually move her limbs again. She could still scarcely move beneath the weight of the gravity pushing down on her, but at least she wasn’t feeling completely  _ drained _ anymore. 

The shifting magic caused the enemy wizard to stumble, and that was all the opening Gildarts needed. He slammed his palm into the ground, and Lucy swore the entire island shuddered. The ground beneath the enemy wizard shattered before he could realize what was happening. A great pit opened up, swallowing him, pieces of the broken earth falling down on top of him. 

The pressure pinning Lucy down disappeared, finally allowing her to sit up with a gasp. 

Gildarts let out a relieved breath. “You okay over there?” 

“Yeah.” Lucy got up and stumbled over to Cana. “I’m fine.” She kneeled next to her girlfriend and rolled her onto her back. Thankfully her breathing was strong. 

“I caught the tail end of that spell she used,” Gildarts said as he approached. “I’d guess that she exhausted herself.” 

Lucy nearly sobbed in relief. This was  _ awful. _ How did these wizards live everyday like this? All the worry and fear would drive her insane! 

“Your girl will be alright,” Gildarts assured her as he picked Cana up with ease and slung her over his shoulder. “She just needs to sleep for a while.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said as she forced herself back to her feet. “I just don’t like seeing her that way.” 

He hummed, and made his way over to Natsu. “You know what happened to him?” 

“I’m the one who knocked him out,” she admitted. “He’s got some injuries on his face, tears and cuts, I’m not sure about anything else though.” He hadn’t  _ seemed _ to have injuries when she met him, but she had no idea if he even registered pain when he got like that. 

Gildarts rolled him over with his foot. “You knocked him out?” 

“Ah, yeah.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “He uh…. He wasn’t acting like himself.” 

He grimaced and kneeled down. He ran his fingers across the dried blood on Natsu’s chin. “What’d you do, kid?” 

Lucy shook her head. “I’m not sure. That blood was there when I found him, and I don’t think it came from the people he was attacking.” 

“He kill ‘em?” he asked as he picked Natsu up with his free arm. 

“No. They ran while he was distracted with me,” she said. 

“He hurt  _ you?” _

“No, no, but…” She shuddered. She had no doubt he would have if the situation had escalated anymore than it had. 

Gildarts frowned. “Sorry you had to deal with that. Hell, even I’ve only seen him go feral like that once. You sure you’re okay?” 

She nodded. “You want me to carry Cana?” 

He raised an eyebrow, no doubt taking in her small stature and thin arms. “You think you could?” 

She let out a breath. “No,” she admitted. 

He laughed. “Don’t sweat it. They ain’t that heavy. Now come on. Let’s get back to the camp. I think that burst of power was Erza, and everyone’s converging that direction now.” 

Lucy nodded, and followed him into the trees. She wasn’t very good at sensing magic power, but he was right. All over the island, Fairy Tail’s power was flaring to life once again, thank god. For a second there, she really thought it was over. 

But thankfully they had Erza Scarlet on their side. 

* * *

“What the hell did Erza just  _ do?” _ Bixlow asked. 

Evergreen fell against a tree as magic power rushed back into her body. She’d seen and experienced some strange things on quests, but she’d never felt her power be sucked away just like that, or felt a burst of magic so powerful and foreign. “I don’t know,” she said. “But let’s just be thankful she did it.” 

“Are you okay?” Elfman asked as he steadied her. “Are you sure your head’s not bothering you?” 

“I’m fine!” she snapped. “Leave me alone!” 

He raised his hands in surrender. 

“I think camp is about a mile that way,” Freed said as he pointed towards the trees. “I feel the Master’s magic, and… Lisanna’s, I believe.” 

Elfman let out a breath of relief. “At least I know she’s okay.” 

Evergreen adjusted her glasses. “Well let’s go. Everyone needs to regroup so we can all figure out what’s going on, and then kick the rest of these dark guild bastards’ asses.” 

* * *

“You’re Ur’s daughter?” Gray asked. 

Ultear had to fight back a smirk as she gently laid Zeref on the ground. “Yes, Ur was my mother.” She knew how loyal Gray and Lyon had been to her mother, and she had no doubt she would be able to manipulate Gray through that loyalty. 

“You’re here with a dark guild,” he said, slowly beginning to shift into a fight stance. 

She nodded. “Yes, I am. But surely you know of what my mother was? Of the demons she hunted?” 

He tensed, but nodded. Ultear didn’t miss the demonic markings covering half his body, or his solid black eye. Grimiore Heart had their suspicions regarding Gray’s true species, but standing before him, she confirmed it. 

Demonic energy and power converged on this man. 

_ A demon descendant, and E.N.D., _ she mused.  _ Just what is Fairy Tail’s connection to the Dark Lord?  _

She pointed to Zeref. “That is Zeref. The one who created demons.” 

Gray scoffed. “Bullshit. Zeref’s been dead for hundreds of years. And what the hell’s that got to do with you being in a dark guild and attacking us on our sacred land?”

She turned her palms up. “Believe me or don’t believe me. It does little to affect my plans. I may not have had a strong relationship with my mother, but I honored her enough to follow in her footsteps. What better way to honor a demon hunter, than to kill the man that created the abominations?” 

Ever so slowly, he began to relax. “So you’re like the Locksers?” 

She nodded. “Yes, I am.” Truthfully, she  _ hated _ the Locksers. They were the ones who had dragged her mother into this life, torn them apart. But what was life if she couldn’t have a little fun with Gray before sending him to his death? “I joined this dark guild because they were obsessed with Zeref, and I thought that if anyone could lead me to him, it would be them.” 

His gaze drifted down to Zeref. “You really believe that’s him?” 

“And you don’t?” she questioned. “Can you not  _ feel _ his power?” 

“Then kill him,” he said. “Kill him, and I’ll believe that you’re not aligned with this dark guild.” 

She shook her head. “It’s not so easy. Grimiore Heart wants to resurrect him. They already succeeded once with Jellal.” She gestured to his body. “Who’s to say that if this guild isn’t destroyed, they won’t just bring him back again? And once they find out what I’ve done, they’ll kill me, so I won’t be around to kill him again.” 

“So you’re saying that this Grimiore Heart guild must be destroyed along with him?” he asked. 

She nodded. “Yes, and I could do it with your help, Gray. I know how much you cared for my mother. If you want to honor her memory, help destroy the magic she fought so hard against. Help _me.” _

Finally, his stance completely relaxed. “What do you need me to do?” 

She smiled. “Kill the guildmaster. Kill Hades.” 

There was no way Gray would survive the encounter. Or hell, even if by some massive fluke he managed to kill Hades, then Ultear would just take over Grimiore Heart. She had no actual loyalty to that man. 

He was just a means to an end. 

A means to resurrecting Zeref. A means to bringing about a world only for users of magic. A means to allow her to become powerful enough to see her mother again, to do everything  _ right _ this time. 

“Consider it done,” he said. 

* * *

Had it not been for Levy, Gajeel probably would have sprinted off as soon as that damned tree had crumbled around him. 

He wanted to  _ tear someone to pieces.  _ And if the dark magic all over the island was any indicator, there was no shortage of opponents. 

But Levy calmed him down, and insisted they head back to the camp to meet up with everyone else, to try and figure out what was going on. He agreed, albeit reluctantly. 

“You tried to protect me, when that magic overwhelmed us,” she said as they made their way through the trees. “Why? You obviously sensed it coming. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for you to try and get away? So you could fight?” 

He shot her a wary look. Because she was right. If he hadn’t grabbed her like that, tried to shield her body with his own, he probably wouldn’t have gotten wrapped up in that plant magic. 

But it was like his body moved before he made a conscious decision to do so. His instincts had taken over, screaming at him to protect Levy, no matter what. “I said I would protect ya,” he finally said. “I meant it.” 

“Well, as much as I appreciate it, please don’t get yourself killed or injured trying to keep me safe,” she said. “I don’t want that, and I can take care of myself.” 

“Sure,” he said. “I won’t get killed for you.” 

* * *

They were some of the last ones to make it back to the camp, and it was already in chaos. Everyone was shouting over each other, trying to piece together exactly how many enemies there were, why they were attacking, how long people had been captured. Wendy ran from person to person, healing injuries as quickly as possible. Natsu kept shouting about Gray and Erza, demanding to know where they were and if they were okay. Gajeel quickly noticed that Juvia wasn’t anywhere to be seen either. Or Mirajane. 

“Quiet!” the Master shouted over the clamor. “Everyone calm down! We’re not going to get anywhere if we’re arguing amongst ourselves!” 

The arguments, chatter, and incoherent shouting died away as everyone turned their attention to the Master. 

Gajeel barely noticed as Levy grabbed his hand and tugged him after her, settling into a spot next to Lisanna and Wendy. 

“Now,” the Master began. “I’m afraid we have four members unaccounted for, and they are our first priority. Mirajane is out looking for Erza, but has anyone seen Juvia, Gray, or Mest?” 

Gajeel shifted and gazed out into the trees.  _ You better be okay, Ju.  _

Lucy raised her hand. “I think I was the last one to see Gray. We separated before everyone’s magic power vanished for a few moments, trying to find everyone else. I haven’t seen him since.” 

“What about Juvia?” Gajeel asked. 

No one answered. 

“Come on!” he shouted. “Not a single one of you bastards has any idea what happened to her!?” 

“She left with Erza,” Lisanna finally said. “Just before Mira and I were captured, so maybe they’re together.” 

“And Mest?” the Master prompted. 

Wendy shook her head. “He vanished,” she said. “Right before I was captured. I don’t know if it was his teleportation ability, or something else.” 

The Master nodded, his expression grave. “And enemies? I don’t want to risk sending anyone else out to search without knowing what we’re dealing with.” 

“I dealt with one of the bastards,” Gildarts said. “Didn’t get much information out of him, though.” 

“Loke did, too,” Lucy said. “Another celestial spirit. And Natsu was fighting two people when I found him.” 

Natsu frowned. “I was?” 

Lucy nodded. 

“You were fighting someone with fire powers when we separated as well,” Evergreen said. 

“Yeah…” Natsu rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I killed that guy…” 

_ “Think?” _ Bixlow demanded. 

Natsu glared at him and gestured to the blood staining his chin, neck, and chest. “Well this sure as hell ain’t my blood.” 

Gajeel grimaced. So he’d snapped again? Twice in the same day? That couldn’t mean anything good. 

“We encountered a man named Rustyrose,” Freed said. “We managed to escape his magic, but he has not been defeated.” 

“So, at the least, there are still three enemies out there?” the Master asked. 

“I think there are more than that,” Levy said. “I still sense strong dark magic, even if our own has strengthened once again.” 

“It’s a dark guild known as Grimiore Heart,” Erza announced as she stepped out of the trees with Mirajane at her side. “And their goal is to eradicate us all.” 

“Shit,” Gajeel muttered. Grimiore Heart was bad news. He’d seen some of the fucked up shit those bastards had done while he was with Phantom Lord. If that was really who they were dealing with, it was a miracle that none of them were dead. 

But… Gray, Juvia, and Mest were still missing. 

Gajeel shook his head. Juvia was  _ fine. _ She wouldn’t let herself get killed like that. 

“Erza?” Natsu asked, stepping forward to meet her. “What… Why do you…” 

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But that’s not important right now. What’s important is defeating this enemy.” 

Gajeel supposed he understood the sentiment, but he  _ definitely _ wanted to know why she smelled almost identical to magic now, and why she was all of a sudden covered in blue tattoos. 

“She looks like a Faerie,” Levy said quietly. 

“Huh?” 

She glanced up at him, obviously not expecting a reply. “A Faerie,” she said. “From legends, and stories. Someone who's blended perfectly with magic. It’s a little different from the fairies our guild is named after.” 

He turned his attention back to Erza as she stood at the Master’s side. “I don’t know how many there are, but they want to kill us all. I defeated Azuma, the one who attempted to strip away our power, but I doubt they will stop just because he failed.” 

“You said Grimiore Heart?” Gajeel asked. 

She nodded. 

“Bastards,” he said. “They fight dirty, and they go for kill shots. I’ve got no idea why we aren’t all dead. They’re some of those fanatics that wanna bring Zeref back to life.” 

Natsu tensed. 

“Then we need to hit them back before they regroup!” Cana said as she pounded her fist into her palm. “They already got the drop on us once, and I’m not fucking lettin’ ‘em do it again!” 

Gajeel was inclined to agree. Grimiore Heart wasn’t going to quit until one side was dead, and he had no intentions of dying today. 

The Master nodded. “You’re right, Cana. Wendy, heal up as many injuries as you can.” 

“Yes sir!” Wendy jumped to her feet and got right to work. 

_ “Natsu!” _ Happy shot out of the sky and landed on Natsu’s shoulders. “We finally found you!” 

“Hey, buddy,” Natsu said as he scratched him between the ears. “Where have you been?” 

Charle and Pantherlily dropped to the ground. “We believe we found the enemy’s base,” Pantherlily said. “A giant airship on the west side of the island.” 

“Well let’s go attack it!” Natsu said as he tried to take off in the direction. 

Gildarts grabbed his scarf. “Hold on there, kid. Not so fast. That may be their base, but there’s still quite a bit of dark magic moving towards us.” 

Natsu wrestled out of his hold, but didn’t try to leave again, even if he pouted about it. 

“We break up into two teams,” Erza said. “One to attack the airship, and one to handle the Grimiore Heart members still on Tenrou. I will lead the attack team, and Gildarts, you lead the defense team.” 

“Uh…” Gildarts held his hands up. “I’m not big on leading, Erza.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Levy, you lead it.” 

_ “What?” _ Levy squeaked. 

“Erza, are you sure splitting up again is a good idea?” Freed asked. 

“So long as we are not in such small groups, yes, I believe it is the best course of action,” she said. “Master?” 

He nodded. “I agree with Erza.” 

“Right.” She summoned a sword. “Natsu. Mira. Gajeel. Wendy. You’re with me. Everyone else, follow Levy’s lead.” She turned back to the trees. 

Levy tried to protest, but Gajeel roughly patted her head. “Come on now, Shrimp. Scarlet’s right. These jackasses need a brain, and that’s you.” He followed after Erza before she could argue. 

“Happy, Charle, Lily, lead us to the airship,” Erza said. 

Happy snapped his wings out and leaped off Natsu’s shoulders. “Aye, sir!” 

* * *

Ultear couldn’t believe it had been so easy to lead Gray towards certain death. He’d barely questioned her at all. Blind loyalty was truly a pathetic thing. 

She’d have to take her time getting back to the airship, but that was fine. It gave her time to stop and heal her wounds. After she was healed, she heaved Zeref onto her back once more, and continued her trek across the island. 

She pushed aside a clump of undergrowth, and scoffed at the sight. 

Meredy laid face down on the ground, a few feet away from Juvia Lockser, both of them unconscious. “Meredy, you useless thing. You couldn’t even take out a single fairy without incapacitating yourself.” She shook her head and laid Zeref back down. “I guess I’ll take care of her myself.” 

She kicked Juvia’s limp body over, marveling at how serene she looked. “Damn Lockser bitch,” she hissed. She raised her hand, magic building in her palm for a fatal strike. 

She released the magic, only for it to connect with a shield of ice. 

_ “Dammit!”  _ she shouted as she whirled around, coming face to face with Gray once again. “I suppose you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.” 

In reply, he sent a wave of ice towards Ultear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is nigh, folks! Five more chapters. Gray vs Ultear, Erza's team vs Hades, and Fairy Tail vs Acnologia


	46. Ultear and Meredy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray fights Ultear, and her past is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looooove Ultear's character, and I'm super excited to finally be including her. I've altered her backstory quite a bit, and I hope you all enjoy what I plan to do with her

Juvia startled awake to ice shattering above her and raining down on her body. Her body hadn’t ached this badly in a long time, but she forced herself up. “Gray?” 

A woman with long, dark hair stood between them, and she was kicking at Meredy’s body. “Get up!” she hissed. 

“Get out of here, Juvia,” Gray said. “I’ll handle her.” 

“I’m not just going to leave you!” she protested. Her strength was already returning, and they could end this fight much faster if they fought together. 

Meredy began to stir. “Ultear?” 

“Take Zeref and run.” The dark haired woman pointed to the man lying a few feet away. 

Juvia’s eyes widened.  _ Zeref!?  _

Meredy scrambled to her feet, and grabbed Zeref’s body. It took everything in Juvia not to chase after her, because that was  _ Zeref. _ How was he alive? How much power did he have? But she couldn’t leave Gray. 

“Juvia.” Gray gave her a hard look. “I said I can handle her, and we can’t let them get away with  _ whoever _ that might be. Go after her.” 

“I—” 

_ “Go!”  _

Juvia sprinted after Meredy. 

* * *

“You never believed me for a second, did you?” Ultear asked as she effortlessly dodged Gray’s ice attack. 

He grimaced. He still wasn’t entirely sure what Ultear’s magic was, and she was strong enough of a fighter that she hadn’t felt the need to use it yet. “I never doubted that you were Ur’s daughter.” How could he, when they looked so similar? “But everything else? Absolutely not.” 

She smirked. “I have to admit, I’m a little excited. Though it is annoying, now I have the pleasure of killing you myself.” 

She hated him. Gray could see it in her eyes. He had no idea why, but he no doubt that this woman wanted anything less than his head on a pike. “How could you turn against her like this?” he asked as he threw his hand out, sending a wave of frozen daggers towards her. 

She held her own hands out, making no move to dodge. The ice dissipated, melting away. “You know  _ nothing _ about what I want, or my feelings towards my mother. Don’t pretend you knew her, and don’t pretend you know  _ me!”  _

“What did you just do?” he couldn’t help but ask. He’d  _ never _ seen someone able to nullify his magic so easily. 

She laughed, throwing her head back and clutching at her chest. “You’ll never win against me, Gray Fullbuster. Not with  _ make _ magic. My Arc of Time will just unmake everything you throw at me. Your  _ ice _ becomes water.” Her laughter turned into a snarl as she glared at him. “You can’t beat me.” 

_ Arc of Time? _ It wasn’t a technique he’d ever heard of, but he couldn’t dispute what he had just seen. It was ridiculously powerful magic, if it was able to just  _ undo _ things like that. Maybe he shouldn’t have sent Juvia after that girl and Zeref without learning what Ultear was capable of. 

Well, it wasn’t like he could do anything about it now. 

Maybe if he attacked quick enough she wouldn’t be able to keep up. 

He called on his magic, and forced it towards her, creating as much ice as he possibly could. 

She didn’t even flinch. Just held her hands out, and just like before, turned his ice back to water. 

_ Fuck.  _ This was a terrible matchup. If he didn’t come up with a strategy soon—

Ultear surged forward, and sent him flying backwards with a kick to the chest. “You killed my mother!” she screamed. “My mother abandoned me and chose you instead and then you  _ killed her!”  _

Gray grunted as he smashed against a rock. “She didn’t  _ abandon _ you…” he wheezed as he forced himself up. “She thought you were  _ dead!” _ he shouted. 

He remembered catching glimpses of her, late at night, with eyes full of tears. Once Lyon asked her why she was so sad. 

_ I miss my Ultear, _ she had said.  _ My little Ultear, who was taken away by the demons.  _

“That’s no excuse!” she screamed, her shrill voice grating against Gray’s ears. “She dropped me as soon as she had the chance! And now I don’t even get to kill her.” She wrung her hands together. “You took that from me!” 

Gray surged forward and drove his fist into her jaw. “You bitch!” 

Ultear staggered backwards and licked at the blood that dripped down her chin. “She abandoned me to the likes of Grimiore Heart, to become a weapon for the Dark Lord Zeref, and  _ I hate her!”  _ She threw her arms out, sending a wave of magic towards him. 

Gray covered his face with his arms, and his body was thrown backwards, slammed into the rock once again. 

_ Why doesn’t she just use her Arc of Time magic on me? _ he wondered.  _ Zap me out of existence or something?  _

It didn’t make sense. That would be so easy, wouldn’t it? 

_ Maybe it doesn’t work on humans.  _

Well, there was only one way to find out. 

He created a little dagger of ice, and dug it into the skin of his wrist. 

“What the hell are you doing!?” Ultear demanded, her eyes wide. 

Blood poured from the cut, and he blended it with his ice, creating a blade that, hopefully, her magic wouldn’t work against. He sprang forward. 

“What did you  _ do!?” _ she shouted. 

He dug his blade into her gut, shoving her against the ground. “How could you become this?” he asked. 

She gasped and scrabbled at his hands, weakly pushing against him. 

“It would break Ur’s heart to know what happened to you.” 

“Good,” she hissed as she finally managed to shove him away. She yanked the blade made of his frozen blood from her abdomen and tossed it away. “Dammit.” She pressed her hands against the wound. “I shouldn’t have healed myself earlier. Damn Arc of Time takes too much power to use repeatedly on humans.” 

Gray’s shoulders sagged in relief. So it  _ did _ work on humans. He had just gotten lucky. She’d exhausted too much power to use it on him. 

“Your mother fought demons, and you decided to worship the prick who created them.” He shook his head. How could something like that even happen? 

Ultear forced herself up on shaky legs. “He can get me what I want.” 

“And what do you want, Ultear?” he asked. She was nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum. It was obvious, really. 

“Zeref is going to bring about the grand magic world,” she said, eyes lighting up with longing. “A place for people like me, so thick with magic that anyone without it would not survive. I’ll finally have access to the power that will allow me to perfect my Arc of Time!” 

_ “Why?” _ If there was anything he’d learned about dark guild wizards over the years, it was that their reasons were always simple, and yet impossible. A horrible combination that led to the worst of results. 

Ultear fell to her knees, her legs giving out as her blood trickled down her body. “I just want my mom…” she whispered. “I want my mom back… I  _ don’t want to hate my mom anymore!”  _ she screamed. 

Gray sighed and took a step towards her. “Then don’t hate her. I don’t want to fight you, Ultear. It would break Ur’s heart if she knew we were trying to kill each other.” He froze the bleeding gash in his wrist. “If you’re still here after I’m done, we’ll talk, okay?” 

He couldn’t kill Ultear, even if she was an enemy. And with a stab wound like that, she wasn’t going to be able to hurt anyone else anyways. 

“Where are you going?” she asked. 

“To kill Hades.” He turned away from her. As much as he wanted to help her, he couldn’t do a thing for her unless she decided she wanted help, decided to give up this fantasy that would  _ never _ come true.

“You’ll die…” she whispered. 

“Heh…” He smiled. There was no doubt in his mind that Erza and Natsu were on their way to fight Hades themselves. “Maybe alone. But I won’t be alone.” 

* * *

_ Debris pinned her to the ground, pressing against her legs and chest. Brick and wood scraped against her skin. She tried to move, to shove her way out of the mess, but her body refused to listen. She laid limp, feeling only pain and fear.  _

Mom…  _ Her mother would save her. She had to be nearby, right?  _

_ She tried to remember what happened. The house had fallen in, right? But why had that happened? Her mother had panicked just before the roof collapsed, trying to reach her, but she’d been too late. The last thing Ultear remembered was her mother’s hand reaching for her as she was buried beneath the debris.  _

_ She tried to move, but her body still couldn’t. Was it because the debris was too heavy, or was something wrong with her?  _

_ “Ultear!”  _

_ She gasped. That was her mother’s voice! She tried to call out to her, but her mouth wouldn’t open, and her tongue rested awkwardly in her mouth.  _

_ “Ultear, please!” her mother called. “Please be alive…”  _

_ “I told you,” another voice said. “There is no way she survived. We just barely got you out of the village in time. Demons do not leave survivors.”  _

_ “Mrs. Lockser, you don’t understand, she’s my  _ daughter.” _ Her voice broke as she began to cry. “She c-can’t be… she can’t be dead!”  _

_ “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I would do if something ever happened to my Juvia,” Mrs. Lockser said. “But it won’t do you any good to linger here.”  _

_ Ultear tried to cry out, to say  _ anything, _ to move and at least shift the debris that covered her.  _ Something _ to signify that she wasn’t  _ dead!  _ She was alive, and she didn’t want to be left alone!  _

_ “I’m sorry, Ultear,” her mother whispered. “I’m so sorry.”  _

* * *

_ It was two days before someone dug her little body out of the debris. “Hey, look at this! The little bitch is still alive!”  _

_ “No way. No fucking way a little kid survived a demon attack like that.”  _

_ “You think I’m too stupid to know how to take a pulse?”  _

_ “Whatever. Throw her in the wagon. I guess that’s interesting enough. Hopefully Hades likes her.”  _

_ Ultear was thrown in the back of a wagon, as if she were a doll.  _

_ And she became Grimiore Heart’s newest plaything.  _

* * *

_ She was thirteen years old when Master Hades allowed her to look for her mother, confident that she was loyal enough to Grimiore Heart not to sell them out.  _

_ As if she would ever sell out the people who had raised her for the past six years, taught her magic, when even her own mother refused to do such a thing.  _

_ It took her several months to find Ur. She lived in a little village, up in the mountains, alone, from what Ultear could tell.  _

_ She ventured to the village, imagining the grand reunion. Her mother must have been distraught, all those years believing she was dead. Ultear couldn’t even imagine how excited she would be to see her again!  _

_ But then she saw her mother in the town, smiling and laughing as two little boys, just a year or two younger than Ultear, showed off their ice-make magic, pathetic as it might be.  _

_ “Very good, Lyon!” her mother exclaimed as she patted the silver-haired boy’s shoulder. “But your stance is a little wrong. It will work better if you hold your arms like this. And Gray.” She turned her attention to the dark-haired boy. “You’re making great progress, but you keep attempting spells way above your level. You have to build up to those.”  _

_ The boy whined. “Master Ur!”  _

_ “No arguing!” she said. “I’m teaching you magic, so you learn it my way.”  _

_ Ultear stumbled backwards, nearly slipping in the snow.  _

_ Her mother had  _ replaced _ her. Her mother had abandoned her in their old village, not even coming back to look for her  _ body, _ and then  _ replaced _ her with these two boys. Even going as far as to teach them her magic! Something she had never done for Ultear…  _

_ “Why didn’t you want me?” she whispered. “What was so wrong with me?”  _

_ She went back to Grimiore Heart without even approaching her mother.  _

* * *

_ She found Meredy when she was sixteen. She’d been sent on a mission with Rustyrose, to destroy the hometown of a wizard that had killed one of their own. Grimiore Heart wasn’t big on revenge, members weren’t generally close enough to care for that kind of thing, but occasionally they used it as an excuse to cause a little havoc.  _

_ And well, Ultear was only human. She  _ did _ like to have fun.  _

_ Not to mention things like this bolstered their reputation.  _

_ It didn’t take them long at all to destroy the town, and as they were leaving, Ultear stumbled across a girl, limp and unconscious, half buried by the rubble.  _

_ She couldn’t help but see the similarities.  _

_ So she brought Meredy back to Grimiore Heart. Of course, she never told the girl that she was the one responsible for destroying her home town, and Meredy tailed after her like Ultear was her whole world.  _

_ Ultear wasn’t stupid. She was aware of the bright-eyed girl’s crush on her. She did nothing to encourage it, but she didn’t care enough to shut it down, either.  _

_ She wasn’t sure if she would consider Meredy a friend. They didn’t  _ have _ friends in Grimiore Heart. But she was probably the closest thing to a friend that Ultear was ever going to get.  _

* * *

_ When she was eighteen, she met the Lockser girl.  _

_ She hadn’t forgotten the name of the woman that had dragged her mother away from her all those years ago. She learned what the Lockser family was, how they opposed Zeref and his demons. She knew there weren’t very many of the family line left, just one man, and his daughter.  _

_ Juvia Lockser. The daughter of the woman that separated her family. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to kill that girl.  _

_ Unfortunately, she discovered that Juvia Lockser had become a member of Phantom Lord, and though they technically weren’t in an alliance with the guild, Master Hades forbid going after their members, especially for petty reasons.  _

_ But Ultear came close one night.  _

_ Her and Meredy had gone out drinking, and by chance, they encountered Juvia in a bar that night.  _

_ “Gajeel, think we should leave,” she slurred. “We’ve both had… a lot.”  _

_ The man she was with shrugged her off. “Nah… Night’s just gettin’ started, Ju. I ain’t leavin’ ‘til I find someone to go home with.”  _

_ Juvia giggled and hung off Gajeel’s shoulder. “Okaaaay… but just a couple more hours.”  _

_ Ultear nudged Meredy. “Go start a conversation with those two.”  _

_ Meredy frowned. “Why?”  _

_ “Just do what I say!” she snapped.  _

_ Meredy gave her an odd look, but approached the duo. “Oh, you’re Phantom Lord members, aren’t you?”  _

_ “Why you wantin’ ta know?” Gajeel slurred as he nearly spilled his booze on Meredy as he leaned towards her. “We fought before… or somethin’?”  _

_ Ultear rolled her eyes. She hated Phantom Lord members. They had no class whatsoever. Of course the Lockser bitch would find kinship in such a trashy place.  _

_ Meredy shot Ultear a wary gaze. “Uh… no? But I’m with Grimiore Heart.”  _

_ Juvia perched in her seat and leaned over Gajeel’s shoulder. “Ah… you’re Ultear Milkovich’s… what’s the word…. Gajeel, what’s the word?” She poked at his cheek.  _

_ “Bitch?” he suggested.  _

_ Meredy’s cheeks flared bright red.  _

_ Juvia shrugged. “Guess that works. Don’t think that’s what I was gonna say though…”  _

_ God, they really were hammered, weren’t they? It was only eight p.m.! How long had they been drinking?  _

_ It would be so, so easy to make her death look like an accident if she was this drunk… She might even be able to pin it on that brute of a dragon slayer. Black Steel Gajeel was a vicious bastard. It wouldn’t be hard to frame him for the murder of Juvia.  _

_ The only reason she didn’t kill her, was because she wanted to kill her while she was at her best. It would be so unsatisfying to kill her in a dark alley while she was so drunk she could never hope to defend herself.  _

_ So she let Juvia go that night. But she vowed she would kill her one day.  _

* * *

_ She couldn’t believe her luck when they were handed the files of information on the Fairy Tail mages.  _

_ The guild was home to both Juvia Lockser and Gray Fullbuster.  _

_ Juvia and Gray were a nice start towards her revenge. The daughter of the woman who stole her mother away, and the boy her mother had replaced her with.  _

_ She couldn’t wait to see them dead at her feet.  _

* * *

Ultear could only stare as Gray left to fight Master Hades.  _ Why is he still fighting? _ she wondered. He didn’t know if his guildmates were alive or dead, and he was knowingly heading towards a fight that spelled his death.  _ Why _ would he do something like that? 

She slumped against a tree, and her eyes began to grow heavy. She didn’t know how much blood she’d lost, but it was probably becoming a dangerous amount. 

_ Death wouldn’t be so bad…  _

She’d failed. She hadn’t killed Gray, and Juvia was hunting Zeref down. She could sense Fairy Tail’s power steadily increasing. Azuma had been defeated a while ago, and if members as strong as her and Azuma had fallen, then Grimiore Heart was likely crumbling to pieces. 

Everything she worked for was disappearing.

All her progress towards a goal that ultimately meant nothing. 

_ Mom…  _

* * *

It didn’t take Juvia long to catch up to Meredy. The poor girl was exhausted, and sobbing, and carrying a man bigger than her on her back. 

“Meredy, put him down,” she said. “Stop this.” 

“I’m nothing without Ultear,” she cried, but she stopped running, and let Zeref’s body fall to the ground. “Juvia, you don’t understand, I’m  _ nothing _ without her!” 

“Then make something of yourself,” she said. “Leave this island. Leave Grimiore Heart. I felt your kindness, your compassion. I know it breaks your heart there. You deserve better.” 

“You don’t know me!” she wailed. 

“No, but I caught glimpses through the link,” she said. “Please, you don’t deserve this.” 

“What do you want?” she asked as she tried to wipe her tears away. “You don’t care enough about me to chase me down. Not when your bonded is fighting Ultear.” 

Juvia sighed. “You’re right. I’m here for Zeref. I… have questions for him.” 

Meredy took a shaky breath. “I… I don’t want Ultear to resurrect Zeref. I don’t think… This obsession of hers is unhealthy.” 

Ultear wasn’t the only one with an unhealthy obsession, but Juvia felt it might be counterproductive to point that out. 

“So please,” she said. “Take him.” She gestured to Zeref’s body. 

“Thank you,” she said as she kneeled next to the black wizard. “What will you do, Meredy?” 

She finally forced her tears back. “I will find Ultear, and we will leave Tenrou. I’m done with Grimiore Heart, and I’m taking Ultear with me.” 

Juvia nodded. “Go.” 

Meredy sprinted back the way they came. 

“Now then… If you really are Zeref…” Juvia rolled his body over, and shook his shoulders, causing him to stir. “I have some questions.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juvia really is determined to figure out just what the fuck is up with Natsu and Zeref, huh?


	47. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza's team attacks Hades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always struggle writing fight scenes (which sucks, because I love them), so I'm always super excited when I get one done

Wendy tried not to stare at Erza as they made their way across Tenrou. Never mind the way she  _ looked _ now, she  _ smelled _ different. Sure, she still smelled like Erza, like sugar, and metal, and home, but now it all lingered beneath the scent of magic,  _ pure _ magic. Not only that, but now she no longer shared Gray, Natsu, and Mirajane’s scent, which was odd. To lose the scent of people like that, normally she would have had to have been separated from them for  _ months. _

Wendy didn’t like it. People’s scents weren’t supposed to just  _ change _ like that.

Natsu didn’t seem to like it either. He kept sniffing at her, and trying to rub his face against her. 

“Not right now,” she said as she shoved him away. 

“But—” 

“I know this kind of thing is important to you,” she said. “You can do it later, but not right now. We have other things to focus on.” 

“Fine…” he relented. 

“He’s right, though,” Gajeel said. “Ya smell weird, Scarlet.” 

Wendy nodded in agreement. 

“It’s not nice to tell people they smell!” Charle called down from the sky. 

“Yeah,” Mirajane added. “And you all smell like dirt and sweat, but you don’t hear me complaining.” 

“Trust me, I know,” Erza said as she held her hands over her nose. “You  _ all _ smell weird. Honestly, how do you  _ live _ like this? It’s overwhelming!” 

“Wait, what?” Natsu asked as he leaned towards her again. 

“Well, I don’t know if it’s as good as yours,” she said. “But it’s definitely better than it was. It’s so much as once.” 

Mirajane rubbed her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just have to adjust.” 

Wendy wished she could offer some advice to help her, but she had been so young when her sense of smell heightened. She’d been raised by Gradine since she was barely a year old! She didn’t even remember what it was like to have senses as dull as a normal human’s. 

“Try breathing through your mouth,” Gajeel offered. “Might help. Some.” That’s right, Gajeel had been eleven when he learned dragon slayer magic. He probably remembered a lot more about being a regular human than her and Natsu did. 

Erza nodded. “Thanks.” 

Gajeel grunted. 

“What actually happened to you, Miss Erza?” Wendy asked. When her, Natsu, and Gajeel, and even Gray, had changed, it was gradual. Why had she turned into whatever this new form was? And why had it been so quick and drastic? 

“I’m not sure, really,” she said. “I was fighting Azuma, and he hit me with a powerful spell. Truthfully, I thought I was dead. But then I heard this voice…” She frowned. “I’d heard it before, when I was young, at the Tower of Heaven, right before I used my magic for the first time.” 

“What?” Mirajane asked. “You never told me about that.” 

Erza shook her head. “I didn’t even remember. Not until I heard it this time. She asked me why I fought… She said I needed to decide why if I wanted the power she gave me. And then that’s when—” She gestured to her body “ _ —this _ happened. I felt magic like I’d never felt before, I could even control  _ Tenrou’s _ magic, and I cut through Azuma like it was nothing.” 

“That’s weird,” Natsu said. 

“Yeah, no shit, dumbass,” Gajeel said. 

Wendy hummed and pressed her finger to her chin. “Miss Levy told me a story about old powers one time. Gods, I guess, or something like that, and they would bless people they thought were worthy with power.” 

“That’s just a story, Wendy,” Mirajane said. 

She nodded. “I know. But there’s usually a little truth in old stories. At least, that’s what Miss Levy told me.” And Levy was the smartest person Wendy knew, so she was probably right. 

“She called ya a Faerie,” Gajeel said. “She said Faeries were people who’d been perfectly blended with magic.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Natsu exclaimed. “Ain’t fairies supposed to be really little?” 

“I don’t fuckin’ know, I’m not a damn fairy expert!” Gajeel said as he whacked Natsu upside the head. “I’m just telling you what she said! She said it was a different kind than what the guild was named after.” 

Natsu growled and smacked Gajeel with his wing.

“Guess I’ll ask Levy after we get out of this damn mess,” Erza said. 

“Hey! Erza! Natsu!” Gray called as he stumbled out of the trees. “Thank god, are you guys headed towards Grimiore Heart’s airship?” He stopped when he got a better view of Erza. “Woah, Erza, what the hell?” 

She sighed. “We’ll talk later.” 

“Gray!” Natsu bounded forward. “You’re okay!” He began checking him over, as if to confirm his words. 

Gray nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What about all of you?” 

Natsu ignored him. “Wendy! He’s hurt!” 

“I’m fine!” he insisted as Wendy ran over to check him. She discovered a deep cut on his wrist that he’d frozen over. 

“Mister Gray, how much blood did you lose?” she asked as she began to work on healing the wound. “You look a little pale.” 

“I said I’m fine,” he insisted. 

Wendy glared at him. “I’m  _ healing _ you. All lying is going to do is hinder you in the upcoming fight. Now, how much blood did you lose?” 

He sighed. “A lot.” 

“That’s what I thought.” She nearly rolled her eyes. She would never understand why Gray, and everyone else, really, always insisted on pretending they were fine when they weren’t. It didn’t help anyone! 

“You fight someone?” Erza asked. 

Gray nodded. “Yeah. She won’t be a problem anymore. And Juvia handled another one of them.” 

“Juvia?” Gajeel nudged Natsu aside. “Is she okay?” he demanded. 

“Yeah, she’s fine. A little roughed up, but she’ll live,” he said. “She’s chasing down one of the dark wizards, and this guy they’re claiming is Zeref.” 

_ “Zeref?” _ they all demanded in unison. 

Gray scoffed. “Yeah, but it’s not like it’s actually him. There’s no way! The guy’s been dead for hundreds of years!” 

Wendy noticed Natsu step back a pace, staring down at the blood still staining his chest. Confusion swam in his eyes. “What’d he look like?” he asked. 

“Huh?” 

“Zeref! What’d he look like?” Natsu lurched forward and grabbed Gray’s shoulders, nearly knocking Wendy over with his wings. 

“I don’t think it’s that important,” Mirajane said. 

“No! I have to know!” Natsu insisted, his voice almost frantic. “Please…” 

“Uh…” Gray gave him an odd look. “He just looked like a guy? He was dressed in black robes, black hair. I don’t know.” 

Gajeel laid his hand on Natsu’s shoulder, causing him to jump. “What’s gotten into you, man?” 

Natsu finally let go of Gray. “He knew my name. I met him earlier, with Evergreen and Elfman, and he knew my name.” 

“What?” Mirajane demanded. “Why would he know something like that?” 

Natsu shook his head. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t answer me when I asked. Then this awful magic came from him, it killed everything around. Except me.” He grabbed at his scarf, which Wendy had fixed earlier. “Turned this black, though. When the magic disappeared, he was gone, too.” 

Wendy frowned, not liking how close Natsu had come to death (and he didn’t seem to have even noticed). She finished treating Gray of his injuries and backed away. “There you go,” she said. “Good as new.” 

Mirajane began to say something else about Zeref, but the Exceeds dropped down to the ground, interrupting her. “Why did you stop?” Pantherlily asked. “The airship is just ahead.” 

“We found the ice bastard,” Gajeel said. 

Gray glared at him. 

“Wendy, better go ahead with your motion sickness treatment,” Erza said. “We don’t want to risk you three getting sick after we get up there.” 

“Right.” She got to work on treating Natsu. 

“Mira, you’ll have to use a takeover form to fly up to the ship,” Erza said. 

Mirajane nodded. 

“Natsu, you think you could carry Wendy?”

“‘Course I can,” he said. 

Wendy smiled. She hadn’t got the chance to fly with her brother yet. She wished the circumstances weren’t so intense, but it could still be fun. 

“Happy, Charle, Lily, you can carry me, Gray, and Gajeel, right?” 

The Exceeds nodded. 

Erza smirked. “Right. It’s time to put an end to Grimiore Heart.” 

* * *

Zeref started awake, but not because of the woman trying to rouse him. A chill settled in his bones as he felt a familiar magic headed for Tenrou. 

_ All these powerful wizards, _ he thought.  _ You just couldn’t resist, could you? _

He sat up, and finally realized that the woman was talking to him. It wasn’t the same one from earlier, though she was certainly a powerful mage as well. “How are you still alive?” she asked as she dug her fingers into his shoulders. “You’re dead. You’re supposed to be  _ dead.” _

He stared into her wide, blue eyes, unsure of how to answer her. He certainly wasn’t dead, but he couldn’t dispute that he  _ should _ be. No one should live for as long as he had. 

He held his hand up, warding her backwards as he stood up. He needed to get off of Tenrou before Acnologia arrived. 

Had he believed the dragon could actually kill him, he would stay, no hesitation. But he knew the beast couldn’t. All staying would do was cause him unnecessary pain. Physically, and emotionally. He didn’t want to watch Mavis’s homeland get destroyed, or witness Natsu’s death a second time. 

So he ran. 

“Hey, wait!” The woman jumped to her feet and chased after him. 

Acnologia would end another era, and force Zeref to watch yet again. 

* * *

“This place is so tacky,” Mirajane said as they wandered the halls of the airship in search of Grimiore Heart’s Master. 

Gajeel couldn’t help but stare at the takeover mage. He hadn’t really  _ stopped _ staring since she’d transformed into a demon. Of course, he’d heard all about her power, but he hadn’t really seen it. He now understood why she was referred to as the “She-Devil,” and why so many people were terrified of making her mad. He wouldn’t say he was  _ scared _ of the intense power flowing from her body, but it was definitely making him a little jumpy. He decided to blame it on his dragon instincts. 

“I don’t think it’s really the time to be critiquing their interior decorating, dear,” Erza said from the front of the group. She was tense, gripping her sword so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Her strange, pointed ears were perked up, twitching towards any little sound. 

Gajeel really hoped that wasn’t what his looked like. It was kind of ridiculous. 

The Exceeds had separated from them as soon as they got on the ship, deciding to try and find the power source that kept it in the air. 

It’d also been discovered that there was only one other person on the ship, someone with immense dark power. 

Grimiore Heart’s Master. 

Gajeel had never met the man, but there was no mistaking that power. He’d sensed it once before, when he’d been sent to speak with Ultear about an alliance. Of course, it didn’t go anywhere, but he didn’t think he’d ever been so tense in his life. 

Well, until now. 

Gajeel was all for fighting powerful opponents, but something about this power had him twitchy, even with Natsu, Wendy, Erza, Gray, and Mirajane at his side. 

The hallway led into a large room, and the amount of dark magic in the air turned suffocating. He nearly gagged. 

And waiting for them, was none other than the Master of Grimiore Heart.

Erza held her hand up, signaling for them to fall into place behind her. Gajeel took up his place in between Natsu and Mirajane. “I don’t like this…” he muttered. He could already feel his instincts clawing for more control than they already had. 

He glanced over to see Natsu biting at his lip, and his face scrunched up in concentration. He seemed to be having the same problem. 

“You must be Hades,” Erza said through gritted teeth. 

Damn, were they all fighting through this insane power? Gray and Wendy were looking a little twitchy as well. Mirajane appeared to be the only one unaffected. 

Hades’ eyes roamed over them, disgust and disdain in his expression, like they were nothing more than trash. “So you are Mavis’s most recent followers.” 

Gajeel frowned. Mavis? That was the name of Fairy Tail’s First Master, right? 

Erza held her sword out. “Surrender. Your guild has fallen. I don’t like unnecessary death, and we’ve killed too many today.” 

Gajeel began to snarl. This man wasn’t going to surrender, and he knew Erza knew that, so why not just attack? 

Hades didn’t even deign to reply. He threw his hand out, and a wave of his magic raced towards them. 

They scattered. 

* * *

Erza threw herself to the ground as the dark magic blazed over her. She felt Natsu’s wing shield her. 

Some instinct in her told her to call on her magic. Not to summon a weapon, or a new set of armor, but just to  _ call _ on it. She rolled out from under Natsu’s wing, and held her palm towards Hades’ magic. 

She summoned her magic, and a bright, golden light shot from her palm, burning away Hades’ power.  _ “Go!” _ she shouted as she sprang back to her feet. “Hit him with everything you’ve got!” 

She had no idea what that power had been, she’d never been able to use magic like that before, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She summoned her sword, and that same golden magic wreathed the blade. 

“Erza, what is that!?” Mirajane exclaimed. 

“It doesn’t matter right now!” she shouted as she sprang forward, cutting through Hades power like it was nothing. 

“So Mavis finally found those she deemed worthy,” Hades said as he effortlessly dodged her blade. “Bratty children, who aren’t even human anymore.” 

“Erza, watch out!” Natsu called. 

She yelped and rolled out of the way of his flames just in time. She felt their heat licking at her back. 

Gray pulled her to her feet with one hand, and forced a wall of ice towards Hades with the other, joining Natsu’s flame attack. Mirajane launched power down at him from above, dark power springing from her talons, and swirling with the fire and ice. Gajeel and Wendy’s breath attacks joined the brigade of magic. 

Erza summoned as many swords as she could and sent them flying towards Hades. They needed to end this quickly, before he got too much of a chance to fight back. She could sense this man’s power, and it made her blood run cold. 

The magic swirling around Hades exploded, flying back towards them as the man stepped out of the attack, seemingly unharmed. 

Erza leaped backwards, landing next to Gajeel. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he hissed. “Not even a goddamn scratch?” 

Wendy threw her arms out. “Hold your breath!” she shouted. 

Erza’s eyes widened as she realized what the little dragon slayer was planning. She took a deep breath, just as Wendy ripped the air away. 

Hades just smiled, before surging forward and batting Wendy away like she was nothing. She slammed against the wall, letting out a small gasp as her body hit the floor. 

“Wendy!” Gajeel sprinted towards his sister. 

Erza let out a cry of rage, and golden light exploded from her body. It raged towards Hades, and he hissed in pain when it came into contact with his skin. 

Beside her, Gray cried out. “Erza!” The light left burns where it touched him. 

“I’m sorry!” she gasped. She had no idea what this magic was, and she had hardly any control over it. She turned to make sure she hadn’t hurt any of her other friends, but they were completely unaffected. “What the hell?” 

Then she noticed Gray only had burns on his black markings, not the rest of him. 

Her eyes widened.  _ It targets dark magic, _ she realized.  _ Demonic magic.  _

Natsu and Mirajane danced around Hades, but the man managed to evade every single one of their attacks. 

“Stay behind me, Gray,” Erza said. She called on that light again.  _ Come on, come on, come on, come on.  _

Power built in her chest. “Mira, get back!” She had no idea if the magic would differentiate between actual dark magic, and Mirajane’s abilities, and this wasn’t how she wanted to find out. 

Mirajane leaped backwards, just as Erza’s new power exploded. 

More intense than before, Hades couldn’t stop his cry of pain as she  _ finally _ landed a good hit. 

While he was winded, Natsu sent another wave of flame towards him, before trying to land a punch. 

But Hades recovered quick. He grabbed Natsu by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Natsu clawed at his hand, shredding the skin, but Hades refused to let go. “I’m a little disappointed in Mavis’s choices,” he said. “I was Fairy Tail’s second master, you know. I think I would have chosen better.” 

Ice and iron barreled into Hades as Gajeel and Gray attacked. 

Mirajane landed next to Erza. “Second master?” she said. 

Erza shook her head. There was no  _ way.  _

Wendy finally got back to her feet and joined her brothers in hitting Hades with as much magic as they could summon. 

“He’s toying with us,” Erza realized with horror. He wasn’t even hitting them  _ back.  _ They were  _ nothing _ to him. 

As soon as the realization hit her, Hades’ power expanded. Gray and dragon slayers were thrown back, and chains rose up from the floor. Erza leaped back, but she wasn’t quick enough. She was  _ pinned.  _ And if the angry and distressed yelling around her was any indication, so was everyone else. 

“Sorry Mavis,” Hades said. “But they got in my way.” 

The dark power continued to build, and Erza wheezed. It felt like it was  _ choking _ her. 

_ Is this it? We survived everything else, but loose now?  _ It was cruel! 

She jerked against the chains pinning her down, but they refused to let up. “No…” 

Thunder rolled overhead, and all the hair on her body stood on end as electricity crackled through the air. 

Her eyes widened as she recognized this magic. 

Lightning tore through the ship. 

And standing before Hades, was Laxus. 

* * *

“What the hell is he doing here?” Gray muttered. Laxus had been  _ banished. _ There was no reason for him to be on Tenrou, and given what he’d tried the last time Gray had seen him, he didn’t think saving their lives was very high on his to-do list. 

Lightning arced through the ship, somehow missing all of them by some miracle. “I leave for a few months and the guild’s already going soft.” Laxus scoffed and shook his head, though the words seemed less mocking than normal. 

“Yuri?” Hades gasped, his eyes widened in shock. 

“Ah, so you knew my great-grandfather,” Laxus said. Then he drove his fist into Hades’ face. 

Gray couldn’t help but laugh at Hades’ shocked expression. God, it felt good seeing the smug bastard look like that. 

But Hades quickly recovered and retaliated with an attack of his own. 

The airship shook beneath the weight of the blows Laxus and Hades traded. The chains began to melt away as Hades’ attention was completely taken by Laxus. Gray covered his head with his arms as more of the roof caved in. 

Damn, he’d always known Laxus was powerful, but he’d never really seen it for himself. He was holding his own against an enemy that all six of them could barely defend against. 

He realized that Laxus had been holding back against them in the capital. He hadn’t actually been trying to kill them at all. 

He jumped and called on his magic when he felt a hand on his back. 

“Woah, woah, it’s just me, Mister Gray!” Wendy exclaimed. “Let me heal up those burns really quick. We need to get back on our feet.” 

Gray nodded. She was right. He wasn’t sure how much help he’d be, though. After fighting Ultear and then Hades, he was about out of magic power. 

As it took Wendy much longer than usual to heal burns as mild as the ones he had, he realized they all were. 

If Laxus didn’t win, they were going to be in some big trouble. 

Hades sent forth an intense wave of power, leaving Laxus no time to dodge. Wendy gasped as the attack connected with him, just as more lightning than Gray had ever seen arced out from Laxus’s body. 

But it didn’t hit Hades. 

Gray gaped as the lightning connected with Natsu’s body. Wendy screamed,  _ “Natsu!”  _

“Win,” Laxus said, before collapsing. “This is Fairy Tail’s fight, so someone from the guild should take him down.” 

“He didn’t…” Gray muttered. Laxus had just given Natsu his magic!? 

Fire and lightning crackled over Natsu’s body as he got back up, his power blazing away the last of Hades’ magical confinement. He bared his teeth in a terrifying smile. “You got it, Laxus.” 

* * *

He clenched his fists, relishing in the strength that poured back into his body. He’d known dragon slayers could absorb other elements under the right circumstances, but he’d never thought it would feel this amazing, make him this  _ powerful.  _

Lightning melded with his flames and flickered through his body. It was foreign, but he quickly grew used to it. 

For a second, he was terrified. Terrified that this much power running through him would cause him to snap, rampage, hurt his friends and family. He’d already lost himself  _ twice _ today, and it was becoming so much harder to prevent. 

But he forced the fear back. 

He would win, and he would win while he was still himself. He’d seen how scared Lucy was of him after he finally woke up, after he realized time was missing and he was covered in blood, and he  _ never wanted a guildmate to be scared of him again.  _

He took a step towards Hades, forcing the fire and lightning to build. “I don’t care if you were our second master, if you knew Mavis, or what the hell you think you’re doin’ now,” he snarled. “You’re our enemy now.” 

Hades smirked. “You think you can handle me by yourself, dragon slayer?” 

Natsu let out a breath of smoke. “I’ll make you beg for mercy.” 

“Kick his ass, Natsu!” Gajeel shouted. 

Natsu attacked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, we're getting so close to the end. I'm so excited for the Acnologia scene that's almost here, and there's also a Mavis and Zeref confrontation coming up in the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy that when they get here, as they're definitely the scenes I'm most excited to write


	48. Get Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza leads a last ditch attack against Hades

Lightning was a little harder to control than fire. 

Not that Natsu had ever been great at keeping his fire under control in the first place, but the added lightning definitely made it a lot more unpredictable. He’d never understood why it went everywhere when Laxus fought, but he was beginning to understand it now. 

As he attacked Hades with his magic, it blazed across the ship. “Watch where you’re flinging that stuff!” Gray shouted. 

Hades’ magic shoved against the wall of fire and lightning, resulting in a small explosion. Natsu snarled and leaped forward, power flickering in his palms. He burned through Hades’ power, and sank his sparking claws into his chest, shoving him to the floor. 

Hades gasped as he ripped his claws out, flicking his blood across the floor. “Stay down or I’ll let you burn,” he snarled. 

Power flared around them, and Natsu stumbled backwards as Hades’ power seemed to rise yet  _ again. _ Erza caught him as he tripped over the rubble. “What is that?” she whispered. 

The air around them warped as Hades got back to his feet. Natsu could  _ see _ the dark magic swirling around them, sucking the life out of everything around them. 

Hades laughed as the magic power continued to grow. “It’s been a long time since I deemed it necessary to use my Demon’s Eye. Perhaps Mavis’s judgement was not as faulty as I first thought.” 

Darkness pooled around them, clawing out of the rubble and forming into horrific beings with glowing, red eyes. 

Natsu gasped and fell to his knees, clawing at his chest as it  _ burned.  _ Burned like it had when he’d come face to face with Deliora. 

Face to face with a pure demon. 

Gray collapsed a few feet away, screaming and clutching at his head. Natsu tried to crawl towards him, but his body refused to listen. “Gray…” he choked. 

Mirajane fell, collapsing among the rubble. “There’s so many souls…” Her body began to shake violently. “I can’t absorb them all, there’s  _ too many!”  _

Wendy and Gajeel stumbled towards them. “What the hell’s wrong with them?” Gajeel demanded. 

Erza shook her head, her eyes wide with horror. 

Natsu felt Wendy’s cool hand against his forehead. “He’s not hurt, or sick, I don’t know what this is!” She raced over to Gray, and then Mirajane, but couldn’t find anything wrong with them either. 

“What did you do?” Erza snarled at Hades. “What the hell is this!?” 

The shadowy forms converged on them, screeching and clawing and brimming with power. 

_ Get up,  _ Natsu told himself. He couldn’t collapse, not now.  _ Get up!  _

* * *

Mirajane let out a choked scream as these abominations, these  _ demons _ fell on Erza, Wendy, and Gajeel. 

“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “Stop it! Stop trying to absorb these souls!” It’d been so long since she’d absorbed a new demon, she’d almost forgotten what it felt like. And now, with so many swirling around her, her magic was trying to take them all in at once. It was overwhelming her. It was going to  _ kill _ her! It was going to get her friends killed! She needed to get up and fight! 

She didn’t know where Hades had gotten so many demon souls, or how he managed to summon them like this. It was like no magic she had ever seen! 

It didn’t matter that they were weak demons. Weak enough that there was little point absorbing their souls and turning them into takeover forms. There were so  _ many.  _

She reigned her magic in. She needed to get it  _ under control. _ It could no longer be allowed to run rampant. It was becoming more than a liability, it was becoming dangerous every time she tried to use it. 

Her magic fought back her attempt to control it, but she forced it down.  _ No, _ she told it.  _ You are mine and you will obey me! These souls are worthless, now stop trying to absorb them!  _

She forced herself up on shaky legs, and her takeover form began to settle. 

Her magic power was so low, she wasn’t going to be able to hold this form for much longer unless… 

She smirked. These demons might not be worth converting into takeover forms, but she could still use their souls for energy. 

She snapped her hand out, grabbing the nearest shadowy mass. It shrieked as her body absorbed it, converting it to magical power. Strength flowed back into her body, making it much easier to force her magic to obey her. 

Erza cried out as one of the demons managed to pin her. 

Mirajane surged forward and shoved her fist through its chest, absorbing it for power. “I’ve got you, babe.” She grabbed Erza’s hand and pulled her up. 

“God, I love you,” she said. “Are you okay? What happened?” 

“My body tried to absorb too many souls at once,” she said as she blasted three of the monsters away. 

“So they’re—”

“Demons,” Mirajane finished. “I imagine that’s what’s wrong with Gray.” Though it did nothing to explain Natsu’s condition. “Try and get them up,” she said. “I’ll watch your back.” 

Erza nodded and bounded towards her two collapsed friends with Mirajane following. “Do you think we could pull off a unison raid?” she asked. 

Erza grimaced as she kneeled down next to Gray. “You know how slayers are with channeling.” 

Mirajane glanced towards Hades, who was tossing Gajeel around like a ragdoll. “It might be the only way we can take him down. We hit him with everything we had earlier and it did jackshit. We’re only gonna be able to do this if we can boost our power like that.” 

“Yeah,” Erza said. “I know.” 

* * *

Wailing voices rang inside his head. He couldn’t understand what they were saying, all he knew was that it  _ hurt. _ There were  _ too many.  _

“Gray, you have to get up!” someone said. “We’re going to try a unison raid, and we need your magic!” 

“There’s so many!” he shouted. “They won’t shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” 

The person shook him. “I don’t have time to deal with this demon shit right now! Get the fuck up!” 

He forced his eyes open. Erza leaned over him, her expression grave. A few paces away, Mirajane tore into shadowy figures, tearing them to shreds with her talons and blasting them away with her magic. 

“We’re not going to last much longer like this, you have to  _ get up!”  _ Erza shouted. “Wendy! Get Natsu up! We’re doing a unison raid!” 

“Right!” 

She grabbed his shoulders, much gentler than before. “Please. We need you. Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu can’t handle channeling, you know that. I don’t want to have to take from them anymore than I need to. At least  _ answer _ me.” 

He gasped. “Erza, they’re so  _ loud. _ They’re in my  _ head.”  _

Her gaze hardened. “Then get up and shove them out. One more attack, and we’ll take him out. We’ll end this, and they’ll leave you alone.” She held her hand out. “Now  _ get up.” _

Fighting past the pain in his head, past the wailing and the screaming, he took her hand. 

* * *

Wendy kneeled next to Natsu. She wasn’t looking forward to channeling, to the pain that would come with that, but she knew Erza was right. A unison raid might be the only chance they had against magic like this. “You have to get up, Natsu. Please. We need you.” 

“It burns,” he gasped as he clawed at his chest. “It hurts.” 

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about that.” She tried to ignore the sounds of the battle around her. “Please. I don’t know how much longer Gajeel can keep Hades distracted. We’re going to die if we don’t do something quick!” 

He shifted, disturbing the rubble around him. “What’s the plan?” he gasped between gritted teeth. 

Wendy had no idea what was wrong with him, but if he was in this much pain already, she really didn’t like the idea of him channeling. “A unison raid.” 

He nodded, and used the debris to pull himself up. “Erza taking point?” 

She nodded. 

“Good. Don’t think I could handle it,” he said as he stumbled forward. Wendy grabbed him, doing her best to steady him. “Help me get into position.” 

* * *

Erza raised her sword as she prepared to lead the unison raid. Gray leaned on her shoulder, and on her right, Natsu swayed dangerously, with Wendy standing ready to catch him. These demons obviously had some effect on him, not to mention he was probably exhausted from using Laxus’s magic like that. 

“Mira! Gajeel!” she shouted. “Now!” 

Gajeel bounded back from Hades, though he was bleeding heavily from his head, and clutching at his side. Mirajane tore a demon in half, then landed next to Gray.

She summoned her sword, preparing to channel the magic of five powerful mages. It was going to leave them exhausted, but they didn’t have any other options at this point. 

Natsu and Gray laid a hand on her shoulder, holding the other out. Power swirled around them as everyone called on their magic. 

It’d been while since she’d channeled, or done a unison raid. And even then she’d only done it with one other person. She hoped this worked the way it was supposed to. 

Everyone’s magic would converge on her, after bouncing off each other, growing more and more powerful. It would be up to her to direct it outwards. 

Fire, and air, and ice, and darkness, and metal exploded around them, melding together. Natsu’s hold on her shoulder tightened, the pain from channeling probably catching up with him. 

Erza raised her sword, finally forcing her own magic to join the attack. The demons were forced away by the rising power, but Hades’ own dark magic shot forward in response. 

_ “Now!”  _ she shouted. 

Everyone released their magic. 

Power exploded from them, crashing into Hades’ magic. 

* * *

Happy circled the strange glowing orb. “Do you think this is it?” he asked as he pawed at it. “It feels weird.” 

Charle hopped up next to him. “You know, I think it is. Feels like magic to me, anyways.” 

Suddenly, the airship lurched, launching them across the room. 

“That didn’t feel good,” Pantherlily said. 

“The magic hasn’t felt good on this ship since we got here,” Charle said. “We better destroy this thing quickly. I think they need all the help they can get.” 

* * *

Ultear awoke to warm hands bandaging the wound in her stomach. “Me-Meredy?” she whispered, voice hoarse. She hadn’t expected to open her eyes again. 

Meredy let out a breath of relief. “I thought I lost you there for a moment.” 

A small part of Ultear wanted to ask about Zeref, but she didn’t even bother. She was dead. Meredy had no magical healing abilities, and she doubted she would survive long enough to make it to a doctor. “Just get out of here,” she said. “Fairy Tail won. It’s over.” 

Meredy sighed, but didn’t stop dressing the wound. “I know.” 

“Leave me,” she said. “I’m dying.”  _ And I have nothing to live for anyways.  _

“No.” 

“Dammit, Meredy!” she snapped, before breaking off into a coughing fit. “That was an order!” 

She finished with the wound. “Grimiore Heart doesn’t exist anymore, so you’re not in charge of me.” 

“I don’t want your help,” she snarled as Meredy pulled her to her feet. 

“I don’t care.” 

“Just leave me to die!” she nearly screamed. “I want to die! I want this to be over!” 

Meredy tightened her hold on her. “No. We have a chance to start over, and I’m not going to let you waste it.” 

“I destroyed your town!” she shouted, weakly trying to shove the girl away. “That was me! Now hate me!” 

Meredy grit her teeth. “You think I don’t know that? I figured that out years ago! I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Ultear.” 

Her eyes widened. “Then why would… why…” 

They began to stumble through the forest, and not knowing what else to do, Ultear stopped trying to resist. 

“Because I care about you,” she said. “And it’s over now. We’ve all done bad things. It’s time to start making up for them.” 

Ultear stopped, causing them both to stumble. 

“Ultear,  _ please—” _ Meredy began. 

She shook her head. “Get me to Tenrou’s Tree. I can fix it. I can fix this.”  _ I can do one good thing before I die. One thing.  _

Meredy frowned, but nodded. 

They staggered through the forest, heading towards the Tenrou Tree as fast as the could. “Are you sure?” Meredy asked as they finally approached the base. “Using this much power… it could kill you.” 

“I don’t care,” she said as she fell to her knees and laid her hands on the wood. 

“That’s what concerns me,” she muttered. 

Ultear ignored her, and called forth as much power as she possibly could, caring nothing for how much it hurt, or how tired it made her.  _ Just fix the tree, _ she told herself.  _ Fix the tree and then it can all end. One good thing. One thing Mom would be proud of.  _

The Arc of Time activated, and Tenrou’s Tree began to piece itself back together. 

* * *

Levy watched with wide eyes as Tenrou’s Tree stood back up, and the last bit of Fairy Tail’s power returned to them. “Do you think that means they won?” she asked. 

“Maaaan, I don’t know!” Cana rested her elbow on Levy’s head. “But I sure hope so! We’re about done kicking these guys’ asses, and if we have to wait on them to go home, I’m gonna be  _ pissed!”  _

Levy rolled her eyes. 

“Here ya go, boss.” Gildarts walked up dropped an unconscious man at her feet. “That should be all of them.” 

She sighed. “First of all, I told you all I’m not in charge.” Damn Erza for sticking her with that job. Thankfully the Master was around and had done most of the directing for her. “Second, even if I was, what am I supposed to do with this. Is he  _ dead?”  _

Gildarts shrugged. 

Levy couldn’t even imagine what dealing with this kind of thing every day would be like. She felt sorry for the Master. “Maybe figure out if he’s dead…” She finally suggested. “Then get back to me.” 

“Whatever you say, boss.” Gildarts picked the enemy wizard back up and headed back towards their makeshift tent. 

“Worthless man,” Cana muttered. 

Levy frowned. She didn’t think Gildarts was  _ that _ bad. 

“Hey, I know what you’re thinking,” Cana said as she poked at Levy’s cheek. “I’m sure Gajeel’s just fine.” 

Her cheeks burned. “I-I-I was  _ not _ thinking about that brute! Why would I?” 

“Mmhm, mmhm, sure, whatever you say,” she said. “But I  _ am _ kind of an expert on relationships if you ever want advice.” 

Levy pointed towards Lucy and Loke, who were arguing about something across the clearing. “Is that why your boyfriend and girlfriend look like they’re about to fight?” 

Cana groaned and marched over. “What the hell are you two dipshits on about now?” 

Levy’s shoulders sagged as she shook her head. She would never admit it, but Cana was right. 

She just hoped Gajeel was okay. 

* * *

Gajeel fell to his knees, praying to every god he didn’t believe in that that had worked. Because he wasn’t sure he could get back up, and even if he managed it, he definitely didn’t have any magical energy left. He was bleeding, he was pretty sure some of his ribs were broken, and his body felt like it had just been torn apart from channeling. 

Wendy collapsed next to him, completely unconscious. 

“Is he down?” Erza asked as she leaned on her sword. “Please tell me he’s down, because I have nothing left.” 

Mirajane crept forward, shoving aside debris. After a moment of agonizing silence, she called, “He’s out cold!” 

They let out a collective gasp of relief. Gajeel fell backwards into the rubble, content to pass out and not move for several hours. “Hey, Natsu?” he asked, glancing over to try and get a glimpse of his brother. 

“He’s out,” Erza said as she stopped Gray from falling face forward. 

He nodded. He’d figured as much. “So we won, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Erza said. “We won.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My cat keeps laying on my arms when I write chapters and it makes my fingers fall asleep. Unimportant, but thought I'd share


	49. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guild relishes their victory, Lisanna comes to a realization, Juvia notices something about her and Gray's bond, Meredy and Ultear leave Tenrou, and Zeref confronts Hades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this monstrosity is now 400 pages in google docs (single spaced lines) and my computer hates it, but I refuse to split up stories into different documents so its just going to have to suffer for one more chapter

It took Mirajane and the Exceeds a while to get everyone back to camp. The dragon slayers were all unconscious (including Laxus), and Gray and Erza weren’t too far behind, though they kept insisting they were fine. The Exceeds made trips flying everyone back except Mirajane and Erza, who decided to walk back across the island themselves to give the poor cats a break. 

“Well what about you?” Erza asked as Mirajane basically carried her across the island. “You’re hurt! And you used just as much magic power as the rest of us!” 

“I ate some souls, dear, I’ll be fine,” she insisted. 

Erza huffed. “Stupid replenishable magic.” 

Mirajane rolled her eyes. “You can’t do everything, Erz. And it’s over now. It’s okay to rest.” 

She shook her head. “Not until I know everyone is okay. Not until Gray and Natsu are okay.” 

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Mirajane insisted, though even she wasn’t so sure. They’d been injured, and exhausted. Even if they had no lasting damage, it would definitely take a while for them to be at full strength again. 

It took them about an hour to make it back to the camp, and Mirajane couldn’t help but sag in relief to see that the fighting was completely over, and most of the guild was present and accounted for, even if most of them were injured in some way or another. 

“Mira!” Lisanna ran forward and wrapped her in a hug. “Happy said you were okay, but after all that, it was had to believe it!” 

“I’m fine,” Mirajane assured her. “Erza needs medical attention, though.” 

“It’s not that urgent,” Erza said. 

“Yes, it  _ is,” _ she argued. “I’m the only thing holding you up right now.” 

Lisanna motioned Freed over. “Can you take care of Erza?” she asked. “I’ll help Mira.” 

Freed took Erza and sat her down on a rock and began to bandage the worst of her cuts, with surprisingly little objections from her. 

Mirajane was mostly sore from holding a takeover form for so long, but she did have a few scrapes and bruises that it probably wouldn’t hurt to get bandaged, so she let Lisanna lead her into the makeshift tent to get her fixed up. 

“So how did the battle go here?” she asked. 

Lisanna shrugged as she cleaned a cut on Mirajane’s upper arm. “We struggled for a moment, but it wasn’t bad at all. I think most of their heavy hitters had already been taken out, and it was pretty much a last ditch effort. No one was horribly injured, and most of the members fled eventually.” 

Mirajane nodded. 

“What about you?” 

“It was not an easy fight, that’s for sure,” she said. “Actually, I think the only reason our last ditch attack worked was because the Exceeds happened to destroy Hades’ heart at the same time that we hit him.” She shook her head. “We really got lucky with that. We wouldn’t have managed another attack, I don’t think.” 

“Yeah… Everyone else is looking pretty rough,” she said. “There was a horrifying second where I thought Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel were  _ dead _ when Happy and the others dropped them off.” 

“They definitely got the brunt of it with that unison raid, since slayer magic is so incompatible with everything.” She winced as Lisanna pulled the bandage around her arm tight. “They’ll live, though, right?”

Lisanna sighed. “Laxus, Natsu, Wendy, and Gray are just exhausted, with some minor injuries. Gajeel is, too, but some of his ribs are broken, and we think he might have a mild concussion.” 

Mirajane frowned. She knew he had taken some heavy hits from Hades just before the unison raid, but she hadn’t realized it had been that bad. 

“He’ll be okay, though,” she said. “When he wakes up he’ll probably be in a world of hurt, but it’s not life threatening.”

She nodded. “Good.” So they had actually managed to get out of this without any casualties or major injuries? 

Lisanna grimaced. “Juvia and Mest are still missing though.” 

Dread pooled in her gut. “Oh god…” They were still gone at this point? They were probably either dead, or injured so badly they couldn’t make it back to camp, then. 

“As soon as everyone’s injuries have been treated, we’re going out to search, but yeah,” she said. “Everyone’s worried.” 

“And are you okay?” Mirajane asked. 

Lisanna shrugged. “I’m not worse off than anyone else. I’ve just got this cut on my thigh.” She rubbed the bandages wrapped around her leg. 

“Lisanna.” Mirajane could tell when something was bothering her sister. Her voice was quieter than usual, and her hands shook slightly. 

“I hate fighting,” she finally said. “I know it’s necessary sometimes, and I know a lot of you enjoy it, but I hate it. Especially when it’s like this. It’s okay when everyone brawls together in the guildhall or gets a little crazy on quests, but people _died_ today. You were _hurt._ _Everyone_ was hurt. Not knowing if you were alive or dead, having to watch Elf fight like that, seeing Natsu hurt…” She let out a shaky breath. “I _hate_ it.” 

Mirajane pulled her into her a loose hug. “I’m sorry. I know. This was never meant to happen.” 

Lisanna sniffled. “I know. And I know it’s not the last time that something like this will happen, and I want to help when it does. It’s just… hard.” 

“Trust me, I understand,” she said. “I don’t really like to fight either, and it hurts every time Erza comes back from a quest injured. But I can’t stop her because I know this is what she lives for. This is what  _ most _ Fairy Tail members live for. I think we’re the rarity.” 

Lisanna’s grip tightened on Mirajane’s dress. “Mira… How… How did you know you loved Erza… like that?” 

Mirajane held back a smirk as she sat Lisanna down next to her. “Honestly, I always really liked Erza. It was why I always insisted she fight me so much. She spent so much time with Natsu and Gray, it was the only way I felt like I could get her attention. Well, that and I wasn’t equipped to handle a sexuality crisis at that age, so I decided I just hated her. One day we were fighting, and she kicked my ass. That was when I finally realized I was smitten with her.” She leaned back and grinned. “She’s so hot when she fights.” 

“Mira,” Lisanna interrupted. 

“Right, right. Well, one day she came in after a quest, her armor all busted up, covered in blood and mud. I panicked,” she said. “I thought she’d been horribly injured. When I realized she was okay, and none of it was her blood, I got this feeling in my chest, warm, but also nerve-wracking. And I remember thinking, ‘Oh no, this is real. This isn’t just some fleeting thing, I’m  _ in love _ with her.’ It took me a year to work up the courage to tell her, though.” 

Lisanna hummed and crossed her arms, looking like she was deep in thought. 

Mirajane nudged her. “You uh… You got something you want to tell me? About why you’re asking about this?” 

Lisanna’s cheeks burned bright red. “W-Well, I just, I…” She took a deep breath. “Seeing Natsu hurt and unconscious like that, it’s like it made me realize how much I didn’t want to lose him. You might have been right… About me liking him…” 

Mirajane opened her mouth to gloat, but Lisanna interrupted. “Please don’t tell him! Or Gray and Erza! Because then they’ll tell him!” 

Mirajane laughed and ruffled Lisanna’s hair. “What kind of big sister do you take me for?  _ Of course _ I’m not going to tell them. Natsu wouldn’t believe me anyways, and Gray and Erza would just get in the way, the dolts. You’re going to tell him, though, right?” 

Lisanna began to pick at her bandage. “I don’t know… If he doesn’t feel the same way, I don’t want to mess everything up.” 

“I’m pretty sure he does,” Mirajane said. “Even if he’s too thick to realize it.” 

She shook her head. “You know how he is. He cares about  _ everyone. _ I don’t think he cares about me any differently than he does any of you.” 

Mirajane sighed. She knew she wasn’t going to change her sister’s mind, and like she said, it had taken a year for her to get the courage to confess, so she had no right to berate Lisanna for being hesitant. “Okay, but just saying, I’m pretty sure he likes you, too.” 

* * *

“The second master of Fairy Tail?” the Master said with a sigh. “I always knew he had turned to dark magic, but I never expected it to be this bad.” 

“So it’s true?” Erza asked. 

The Master nodded. “Unfortunately so. Our guild has had a dark past, dear.” 

She frowned. She knew that. She didn’t know all of Fairy Tail’s history, but the Master had told her some. She didn’t think  _ he _ even knew all of Mavis’s secrets. “What about Laxus?” she asked. 

“He shouldn’t have even been here,” he said. “This isn’t his guild, and this isn’t his sacred land.” 

“He did save our lives though,” she pointed out. 

“I know.” 

* * *

“Is everyone alright?” Gray asked as soon as he woke up. 

Evergreen glared as she leaned over him. “You might want to worry about yourself. You look like garbage.” 

He sighed as he sat up. “Thanks, Ever…” 

She sniffed and turned her head away. “It’s not like I wanted to be assigned to nurse duty, but since Wendy’s unconscious, we don’t have a lot of options.” Then her expression softened. “And everyone that’s been accounted for is okay, but Juvia and Mest are still missing.” 

He stumbled out of the makeshift cot as quickly as his body would let him. She still wasn’t back yet? “I have to find her!” 

“Hey, hold on.” Evergreen grabbed him. “We’re gonna get people out looking soon. You’re in no position to—” 

He ignored her, shoving past her. He made it through the camp and back into the forest before anyone realized what he was doing and stopped him. “You better not be dead,” he hissed. “Not here, not like this.” 

Was it his fault? Should he have looked for her instead of going to fight Hades? He assumed she would be okay! She’d already survived that pink-haired girl once, and the man, Zeref or not, had been unconscious! 

He had to find her! 

* * *

“Hey, lightning prick!” Gajeel shouted as he limped towards Laxus. “I got some questions for you!” 

Laxus turned away from Freed to eye Gajeel distastefully. “The hell do you want?” 

Gajeel bit back a snarl. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, this man had  _ probably _ saved their lives, so he’d do his best to stay civil, but he wasn’t a fan of the bastard. Not after pulling that shit in the capital. “I told ya. I got some questions. Tell yer boy toy you’ll be back in a minute.” 

Laxus glared at him, but excused himself from Freed. “Alright, what do you want?” he asked after stepping away. 

“What happened to yer dragon?” 

“Huh?” 

“Your dragon!” Gajeel snapped as he leaned towards him, before wincing and clutching his hand to his side. Damn broken ribs. “If you’re a slayer, a dragon had ta of taught you magic. I asked Natsu before, but he knew jackshit about it.” 

Laxus frowned. “You mean that idiot was telling the truth about being raised by dragons?” 

Gajeel couldn’t stop himself from growling that time.  _ “Yes. _ Now what about yours?” 

He shook his head. “Never met a dragon. Didn’t even think they were real.” 

Gajeel’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Then where the hell did ya get yer magic?” Dragon slayer magic only came from dragons!  _ Maybe _ another slayer, but he wasn’t even sure about that. 

Laxus sighed. “Look, I’m not really supposed to tell anyone about this, but I was kind of an ass when we met, so this’ll make up for it.” 

Gajeel frowned. 

“When I was a kid, I was real sick. Doctors didn’t think I’d make it past being a teenager,” he said. “So they fused some kind of lacrima with my body. A dragon slayer lacrima, or something like that.” 

“So you’re not a  _ real _ dragon slayer,” he said. “That why you ain’t all dragon-y either?” 

Laxus shrugged. “If that’s how you wanna look at it, sure. I’m not like you.” 

Gajeel hummed. That was all he wanted to know, so he turned to go find Levy and make sure she was alright. “Thanks, I guess.” 

“Whatever.” Laxus went back to Freed. 

* * *

Juvia couldn’t believe she lost Zeref in the trees. How could she be so  _ stupid!? _ He could have the answers to so many things! What exactly demons were, how he created them… He could put her concerns over Natsu to rest… 

But none of that mattered, because she couldn’t  _ find _ him. 

She sighed and leaned against a tree. Who was she kidding? She should head back to the camp. She’d lost Zeref over an  _ hour _ ago. She wasn’t going to find him again, much as it infuriated her. 

Anxiety and guilt sparked through her, and she grabbed at her chest. “What the hell…” Those weren’t her emotions. It felt almost like Meredy’s link, but not quite. This was stronger, more intimate, almost. 

Her eyes widened. “Gray?” Had their bond finally become strong enough to feel each other’s emotions? Why? Had the extreme stress of the day sparked its sudden increase in strength? 

More importantly, why did he feel like this? Was he hurt? Was someone else hurt? She thought she’d sensed the magic of Tenrou settle, meaning the battle was over. Had she been mistaken? 

She turned towards the camp, really hoping it was nothing serious. But if it wasn’t, why would he feel like this? 

She ran through the trees as quickly as she could, fighting against the exhaustion that tugged at her body. She needed to find him. 

She forced her way through a patch of undergrowth, and slammed into another person with a little  _ oof.  _

“Juvia!” Gray exclaimed as he grabbed her, as if making sure she was real. “You’re okay!” 

The anxiety that didn’t belong to her began to fade away, though the guilt remained. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “I lost Zeref though. He woke up and fled.” 

Gray shook his head and pulled her into a hug. “I don’t care. I woke up, and they said you were missing and I just… I assumed the worst.” 

She stiffened for a moment, not expecting him to hug her. Gray was not a very touchy person. But she soon melted into the touch. “I promise I’m okay. What about you? And everyone else?” 

Finally, he let go of her. “I’m fine,” he said. “Just some scrapes and bruises, and exhaustion. It’s pretty much the same for everyone else.” Then he frowned. “I think, anyways… I kind of ran off to find you as soon as I woke up, but nobody in camp seemed panicky so I assume everyone’s gonna live.” 

She nodded. “Let’s head back then, before everyone starts to worry over you, too.” He didn’t mention anything about unusual feelings, so she assumed it was just her that the bond was affecting like this so far. 

She didn’t tell him. They’d dealt with enough for today. 

* * *

Ultear hovered in and out of consciousness as Meredy dragged her across Tenrou, and finally stopped after they’d climbed into a tiny rowboat. “Told you to leave me…” she whispered as she stared at the bright blue sky. “Go live your life. I’m done with mine.” 

“Stop talking like that!” Meredy shouted. “Please! Just—Just stop!” She clutched onto the torn fabric of Ultear’s clothes. “We’re both going to start over, understand me?  _ Both  _ of us!” 

Ultear let out a raspy breath. “Why? I don’t deserve it, and I’ve nothing to live for anyways.” The Zeref she’d been promised didn’t exist, and there was no way to bring about the grand magic world. 

And even if she managed it… was that what she  _ wanted? _ Really? 

All she’d wanted was her mother… But Gray had been right, hadn’t he? Ur had thought she was dead. 

How could Ultear blame her for trying to move on from that? 

_ She _ certainly hadn’t been able to move on. She’d wasted her whole life hating a dead woman, and fighting for something that would never happen. 

She was never going to see her mother again. 

Tears leaked from her eyes. It’d been so long since she cried. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like. 

“Then find something new, Ultear,” Meredy said as she wiped her tears away, much too softly for someone who should  _ hate _ Ultear. “We’ll both find something new.” 

* * *

Cana took a deep breath, and looked back to Loke and Lucy one last time for encouragement. They were both hidden in the bushes, and grinned and gave her thumbs up when she glanced at them. 

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. 

She could do this. She was  _ going _ to do this. If the First Master thought she was worthy enough to show herself and share her power with her, then Cana was more than good enough to tell Gildarts she was his daughter. 

“Hey,” she said as she approached him. “I’ve got something to say to you.” 

Gildarts turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What do you need, Cana?” 

_ Don’t back down, don’t back down. Lucy and Loke will give you hell if you do. _ She steeled herself, and stared at him, unblinking. “I’m your kid.” 

For a moment, he was silent, and Cana was worried he didn’t believe her, then his eyes grew wide. “Oh my god. Who’s your mother?” He began listing off more women than Cana could hope to count. 

She growled. “You really get around, don’t you?” 

“Cornelia,” he said, like he knew for sure. “Your mom was Cornelia.” 

She nodded. “Just before she died she told me who you were, which was why I came to Fairy Tail. But you were never around, and then when you were…” She shook her head. “Whatever. I told you. It doesn’t change anything, I just wanted to do this.” She turned away, but before she could walk off, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. 

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Cornelia was…” He sighed. “If I knew… I never would have left for that quest, and by the time I got back, she was already dead.” 

“Yeah,” she said. “I was six. The church in the town we lived in took me in, but I finally left to look for you when I was eleven.” She pulled out of his hold. “But this doesn’t change anything! You were still a deadbeat dad who left my mom for some stupid quest!” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess I kind of deserve that.” 

“Yeah,” she said. “So now you know. Loke! Lucy!” 

They popped out of the bushes. “I told you you could do it!” Lucy exclaimed. “Loke, you owe me twenty Jewel,” she said with a smug smile. 

“Wha—You fuckers  _ bet _ on this!?” she demanded. 

Loke turned his palms up. “In my defense, you’ve been putting this off for about eleven years now.” 

“Tch. Assholes.” 

Behind her, Gildarts laughed. “You certainly inherited your mother’s filthy mouth.” 

* * *

Grimiore Heart’s airship was thoroughly demolished. It just barely got back into the air after the few surviving members of the guild made it back on board. 

Zeref crept through the halls of the ship. 

It was Grimiore Heart’s fault that Mavis’s homeland would be destroyed, that Acnologia had marked her guild for destruction, that Natsu was going to die  _ again.  _ If Hades had never ordered this attack, none of this would have happened. 

He found the man in question, sitting on his cracked and worn throne. “You’re a fool,” Zeref said. “Filling these people’s heads with lies about me. You knew that I wasn’t dead.” 

Hades did not appear the least bit shocked by his appearance. “It’s been a long time, Zeref.” 

“Indeed,” he said as he ran his finger through the dust on the wall. “Why did you do this? Why would you turn against Mavis for me? Why come to Tenrou like this?” 

Hades sneered. “Can you really not figure it out? I  _ cared _ for Mavis, and I can’t let her destroy herself like this.” 

“She’s already dead.” 

“You know as well as I that she is not,” he argued. “Not really.” 

Zeref leveled a heavy glared at him. “She is in all the ways that matter. She’s chosen her destruction, just as I have. Though I admit it is ironic that Natsu was chosen by both of us.” Then he sighed. “But I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. Your foolish decisions have brought Acnologia down on your former guild. Was that your hope? To destroy the ones she’s chosen?” 

“I never imagined the power would draw in Acnologia, but I admit that killing her chosen generation was one of my goals, yes,” he said. 

“Well it seems you succeeded, if not directly,” he said. He could already hear the roars in the distance. “And seeing as you happened to also destroy my own hope in my death, I’ll have to take drastic measures myself.” 

As Acnologia descended on Tenrou, Zeref abandoned his care for life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I attempted to give everyone a small break in this chapter, but it didn't really work out that way. Whoops. Oh well. You've got one more major issue then you can nap for seven years, so it's fine *shrugs*


	50. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acnologia descends upon Fairy Tail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here it is everyone! The final chapter! It turned out so good! (In my opinion anyways), and I hope you all enjoy it!

It was decided that the S-Class exam would be postponed, despite everyone’s protests. 

Personally, Levy agreed with the Master’s decision. Even  _ if _ they continued the test like nothing had happened, everyone was injured, and basically out of magic power. It would be miserable, and most people would probably collapse before actually accomplishing anything. 

(Plus Cana revealed she’d already found the grave anyways, giving her an unfair advantage). 

“We would have won,” Gajeel said as he crossed his arms and turned his nose up. 

Levy couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t argue with him. “Well, I suppose you  _ did _ get the fight that you wanted,” she said. 

He grunted. “Could do without the busted ribs though. Hurts like a bitch.” 

“Sorry.” Wendy didn’t have enough magic power left to fix anyone’s injuries. The poor girl had been worked to the bone, so everyone was going to have to put up with the pain until they got back to Magnolia and Porlyusica, or until Wendy’s power was replenished. 

“Been through worse,” he said. 

She frowned, and before she thought too much about it, stood on her tiptoes to brush aside his hair that had been caught in the bandage wrapped around his head. “Just because you’ve experienced something worse, doesn’t mean it’s okay to be hurt again.” She sighed and shook her head. “You really need to learn how to take care of yourself.” She didn’t think Gajeel even  _ realized _ how bad his self destructive tendencies were. Or that he had self destructive tendencies at all. 

He stared at her with wide eyes, and for a second, she thought maybe she’d gotten somewhere, but then he turned his head away and scoffed. “I can take care of myself just fine.” 

She almost groaned in frustration. Why was he so damn stubborn? Why couldn’t he just accept that people cared about him and didn’t want to see him hurt? She leaned against a tree and crossed her arms, staring at the bright blue sky. She was wasting her time. The stupid man was never going to change. 

Suddenly, Gajeel stiffened and began sniffing at the air. 

“What?” she asked, praying it wasn’t another Grimiore Heart mage lurking around. 

“Something’s coming,” he said as a wary growl built in his throat. “Something bad.” 

* * *

The roar was so loud that Wendy cried out and slammed her hands over her ears. The entire island seemed to cower beneath the noise. She stumbled out of the tent, searching for the source of the sound and the horrible, crushing power that came with it. 

“Wendy!” Natsu grabbed her and wrapped her in his wings before she could find out what was going on. She had to crawl up his torso and peak over his wings just to get a glimpse of what was going on. 

Every single Fairy Tail member stared at the sky in horror, at the great black dragon descending on the island. 

At first, joy sparked in her chest. A  _ dragon.  _ A real dragon! After all of these years! Maybe it knew what had happened to Grandine and the others!

But then she felt the overwhelming bloodlust that came from the beast, noticed the dead look in its eyes, and she realized that this dragon was here to  _ kill them.  _

“Natsu!” Her grip on him tightened as she buried her face in his chest. 

“It’ll be okay,” he assured her as he ran his hand through her hair. “We’ll win. We always do.” 

The dragon roared again, and the sheer  _ power  _ that came from it had the trees splintering and cracking. The island shuddered as it landed, and the earth shattered beneath its great weight.

“Run!” Gildarts shouted, finally snapping the guild out of its panicked stupor. “There’s no fighting that thing! So  _ run!”  _

“That’s the one you fought,” Natsu realized. 

Wendy squeaked. If even  _ Gildarts _ could barely survive this dragon, they couldn’t win against it! That wasn’t even an option. 

“I don’t want to die today,” she said. It wasn’t fair! They beat Grimiore Heart! They beat Hades!  _ Why?  _ “I don’t want to die.” 

Natsu’s grip on her tightened. 

The dragon lashed out, stomping down one of its giant feet. Its warped snarl sounded almost like a cackle as they scattered. 

Everyone screamed as the trees fell around them and the dragon continued to swipe and claw at them, like a cat toying with a mouse. 

She broke out of Natsu’s hold and ran towards the dragon. “Why are you doing this!?” she screamed.  _ “Why?”  _

It paused, its foot pulled back for another strike. For a second, she thought it would speak, that maybe they had some hope, but then the blood in her body pulsed, and she fell to her knees. 

She felt  _ drawn _ to this creature, like she belonged with him. She reached her arm out, wanting nothing more in the world than to touch him. 

His giant foot came down again, and Bixlow grabbed her, pulling her out of the way just before his talons tore into the Earth where she’d been sitting. “What the  _ fuck, _ kid?” he demanded as he sprinted away. 

Wendy dangled limply in his grasp, staring at the great dragon as her blood roiled. She began to struggle, trying to get away from Bixlow. 

She needed to return to Acnologia. 

* * *

Erza just barely managed to dodge Gajeel’s snapping teeth as she used all her strength to help Levy drag him away from the dragon. His claws scraped down her armor with an ungodly screech. His extensive injuries were probably the only reason they’d managed to keep him from running straight towards his death. 

She risked a glance over to see Gray, Juvia, and Lisanna having the same struggle with Natsu. And even Bixlow was having a hard time containing Wendy, who was snarling and frantically clawing at him. 

“Gajeel,  _ please!”  _ Levy pleaded. “He’ll kill you!” She cried out as his claws tore into her shoulder, but she didn’t let go. 

_ What the hell is wrong with them?  _ She’d witnessed their instincts take them over multiple times now, but this was different. They were completely  _ feral.  _ They weren’t using their magic, just clawing and biting at them as they tried to keep them from running right into the dragon’s jaws. 

All of a sudden, just after the dragon had landed, the dragon slayers froze, and Erza knew immediately something was wrong. She’d  _ never _ seen Natsu freeze like that when he was in danger. His first instinct was to attack whatever happened to be threatening him. 

And then they had begun to stagger towards the dragon, almost like they were in a trance. Erza had pounced on Gajeel, since he was the closest, before he could get too far, and now he was trying to tear her and Levy apart! 

“Oh god,” Levy choked. “The blood! Erza! The blood! They have that dragon’s blood in them!” 

She grit her teeth and grabbed a handful of Gajeel’s hair, yanking his head back and leaving him unable to bite at them anymore. “Then we need to get them as far away from that thing as we can. Hopefully whatever the hell this is will wear off with distance.” 

She tried not to look towards her guildmates still scrambling around the dragon’s feet, firing off what little magic they could manage, trying to slow it down so the rest of them could flee. Mirajane, Freed, Evergreen, Elfman, Cana, Loke, Lucy. She couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. If she slipped up and Gajeel managed to escape her grasp… 

She needed to get him out of here, and then join the battle. 

_ No one  _ was going to die today. Not if she could help it. 

* * *

Gray resorted to freezing a muzzle over Natsu’s mouth. He felt  _ awful _ about it, but he didn’t know what else to do. He’d taken a chunk out of Juvia’s arm, and since he wasn’t using his fire, his teeth were his most dangerous weapon at the moment. 

He didn’t want to knock him out, not in a situation like this. They needed to snap him out of whatever this was. They were pit against a  _ dragon!  _ Hell of a time for their dragon  _ slayers _ to have some kind of meltdown. 

Lisanna was fighting back tears as they dragged Natsu across the ground, though his struggles were beginning to weaken. “Come on, Natsu,” she said. “Whatever this is,  _ fight it.”  _

Gray gasped as his grip on his wing slipped, and Natsu managed to twist out of his grasp. He wrenched himself out of Juvia’s hold, and shoved Lisanna away. Gray lunged for him, but someone else grabbed him first. “Fucking snap out of it, lizard. We’ve gotta go,” Laxus said as he began to drag Natsu back by his scarf. 

Guild members sprinted past them, abandoning all hope of holding back the dragon. Mirajane and Loke stopped to help Erza and Levy with Gajeel. 

With no one holding the beast back, they were dead if they didn’t get moving. 

“Oh no,” Lisanna gasped as her hands went to cover her mouth. “Master….” 

Laxus grimaced, and Gray noticed the tears building in his eyes. “We have to go,” he repeated. 

Gray finally noticed that the Master was the only one not running. “But—” He tried to run forward to help, but Juvia grabbed him and shook her head. 

“Look at him,” she said. “He knows what he’s doing.” 

Gray grit his teeth, and grabbed Natsu again. “Let’s go.” 

It was similar. Too fucking similar to looking at Ur one last time as Lyon dragged him away, but once again, he had little choice. 

As Natsu stared at Laxus, the glazed look in his eyes finally began to fade. He caught sight of the Master, and let out a panicked noise. 

Laxus shook his head. “Not this time, Natsu.” 

Natsu’s fire flickered, and the muzzle melted away. His struggles renewed, but for a completely different reason now. “I have to help him! We can’t leave him to die!” 

Gray tried not to listen to the struggle as Acnologia fell on the Master. “I know. God, do I know, Natsu. But don’t let him do this for nothing. We have to get away.” 

* * *

Gajeel blinked, the world coming into focus once again. The stench of blood and panic was so thick in the air he almost gagged. Pain spiked through him as someone drug him across the ground, aggravating his injuries. The roars of the dragon still rang in his ears. “Levy?” he gasped as her blue hair flashed in his vision. 

“Gajeel!” she nearly sobbed. 

Erza leaned over him, and he realized she was one of the people dragging him. “You back with us?” 

“What the fuck…” he muttered. Had he passed out? How much had he missed? He stumbled to his feet, and he realized Erza, Mirajane, Levy,  _ and _ Loke had been carrying him. He fell into pace beside them as they ran, trying to ignore the excruciating pain in his side. “We runnin’ from that thing?” 

Mirajane choked back a sob. “The Master’s holding him back for us.” 

“Huh?” He looked over his shoulder to see the Master struggling against the giant dragon. “That thing’s gonna kill him!” 

“We know,” Erza said through gritted teeth. 

“I thought you bastards didn’t leave people behind!” he shouted. “I thought you were different than Phantom Lord!” 

“It’s what he wanted—” Loke began. 

“Fuck off! I thought you were  _ better!”  _ he shouted. 

“He’s right…” Levy whispered as she slowed to a stop. “We can’t leave him. Not like this.” 

“Oy! Lightning bastard!” Gajeel shouted towards Laxus, who was dragging a struggling Natsu behind him. “Y’er a dragon slayer, ain’t ya? Let’s go kill a fucking dragon!” 

Erza gripped Gajeel’s shoulder and shook her head. “You can’t get near that thing again. You, Natsu, or Wendy. His blood—” 

_ “Laxus!”  _ he roared. “Let my brother go! We’re gonna hit that thing with everything we’ve got!” 

Laxus stopped, and slowly released Natsu from his grasp and turned back towards the dragon. 

“We won’t win against the monster!” Gildarts shouted. “Fighting it is suicide!” 

“We don’t gotta win!” Gajeel argued. “We just gotta get one good hit! A hit strong enough to buy us time to get away.  _ All _ of us!” 

“He’s right,” Erza said as she summoned a blade. “A retreat like this is shameful. Are we not the strongest Fiore has to offer? The strongest wizards of the strongest guild? How  _ dare _ we leave our Master behind!” 

Levy shook her head. “Gajeel, Erza was right. You, Natsu, and Wendy can’t get near him. His blood did something to you!” 

He pretended not to notice the blood dripping down her shoulder, or the blood stuck beneath his claws. “I ain’t lettin’ him get to me like that again,” he snarled. 

“But—” 

Wendy ran forward. “He’s got some kind of influence over us. It might be easier to fight off now that we know about it,” she said. “We’re slayers. We can do it. This is what we were meant for.” 

Erza raised her sword. “On me! One attack! All at once! Understand!?” She shot towards the dragon, every member of Fairy Tail following her rally cry. 

* * *

Lisanna scrambled towards where the Master had fallen, batted away by Acnologia like he was nothing. Her magic wasn’t suited for an attack like this, so she had split off to help him to his feet and help him flee. 

“What are you fools doing?” he gasped. 

She shook her head. “You honestly thought we would leave you? I admit, our loyalty to you made us obey your order for a moment, but you know we were never too fond of rules.” She pulled him to his feet and sprinted away from the dragon as all the magic of Fairy Tail converged on their final enemy. 

* * *

Loke never thought there would be a group more powerful than all twelve zodiac spirits. Supernatural beings that were powerful enough to topple armies at certain times?  _ Of course _ they were the most powerful group to exist. 

But as he charged into battle with Fairy Tail, united by stubbornness and love, following Erza Scarlet’s shining blade, with rage filled battle cries filling the air, he realized that this group of people might be able to tear apart the world if they wanted. 

Magic swirled around him as they called on their power, building and building, until Erza gave the final command, gave them permission to unleash their wild power and rage. 

Loke knew he would be around a lot longer than these people, but he didn’t think he would ever meet another group that terrified him as much as they did.

* * *

Despite the reputation she had built for herself over the years, Cana wasn’t stupid. Sure, she acted like a dumbass sometimes, but she really wasn’t. 

She knew that charging towards this dragon was likely the last thing she would ever do. 

Even with the Master sacrificing his life, they probably wouldn’t have all gotten away, and they  _ definitely _ weren’t going to now that they were charging the monster. 

She settled her cards between her fingers, ready for the attack. On her left and right, Lucy and Loke summoned their power. 

Cana glared up at the black dragon, fire burning in her eyes. She didn’t want to die, but if she was going to, she didn’t want it to be anywhere else, doing anything else. 

She was going to die next to two people she loved, and filling the beast that had dared to hurt her family with some pain of her own. 

Fairy Tail was her family, her everything, and she would be damned if they went down without a bang. 

_ “NOW!”  _ Erza screamed. 

* * *

Natsu scratched Happy’s ears as the cat steadied himself on his shoulders, careful to avoid getting hit by Natsu’s wings. “You ready, buddy?” he asked. “Watch out for the fire, okay?” 

“Aye sir,” he said, his voice lacking its usual cheeriness. 

The air began to swirl around Wendy and Charle as his sister summoned her power. 

“You better not drop me, Lily,” Gajeel muttered. 

“That was one time!” Pantherlily said through clenched teeth. 

Natsu couldn’t help but snicker. Erza had asked them to attack from above while everyone else hit Acnologia with everything they had from below.

_ “NOW!”  _ Erza shouted as she thrusted her sword forward, launching a wave of that new golden power of hers towards the dragon. 

Fairy Tail’s power exploded, everyone calling on more power than should have ever been possible, considering how much they’d already used today. 

Natsu felt the fire burn in his lungs as he called on it, breathing fire hotter than the sun. Flame burst through the sky, joining the Gajeel’s iron, Wendy’s air, and the brilliantly shining attack from below. 

The power melded together, almost like a unison raid, but not quite. It was more natural, more powerful, as if they were all linked by something other than a magical connection. 

The magic collided with Acnologia, and the dragon roared as the full power of Fairy Tail slammed into the beast. 

* * *

Juvia relished in the great power that swirled around her. It  _ invigorated  _ her. All these powerful mages, bonded together by something she didn’t completely understand yet, but she knew she was a  _ part _ of. 

The magic hurtled towards the dragon, and she braced herself to run, knowing that even this immense power was not enough. They all knew that. 

Hit and run. That was the plan. 

The dragon slayers dropped back to the ground as the power of Fairy Tail barreled into the dragon. 

The magic slammed into the dragon, and it roared. 

For a brilliant second, Juvia thought they’d accomplished it. They’d injured the beast, giving them the opportunity they needed to run. 

But then the power of the attack faded away, and the dragon stood unharmed. 

Juvia fell to her knees. 

* * *

“I warned you, an attack would not work,” Gildarts said. 

Tears streamed down Lucy’s face as she realized what that meant. They were dead. They were going to  _ die.  _

For a moment, with all that power in the air, she had let herself believe that they would get out of this unscathed, that they were all going to be okay, but it was a fool’s hope. 

Cana grabbed her and held her close, whispering something in her ear, but Lucy couldn’t even focus on that. All she saw was the dragon glaring down at them, power swirling around it as it prepared for a breath attack. 

Loke held her hand. “I’m going to try to shield us, but… I don’t know if…” 

Cana nodded. “It’s okay. I knew that attack wasn’t going to work.” 

The guild huddled together, staring up into the face of death. A few members scrambled for a defense, but no one was going to get anything up in time. Hell, even if they did, that dragon’s power would just tear right through it. 

They were all going to die on this island, annihilated by the power of a dragon. 

Loke squeezed her hand. “I’m proud to have been your servant.” 

She looked up at him, blinking away tears so she could see him clearly. “You know,” she managed to say. “I never much enjoyed life until I met you.” She turned to Cana.  _ “Both _ of you. So thank you.” 

“Everyone pour what little power you have into a defense!” Erza said, still desperately trying to organize them, brace them for an attack that they weren’t going to survive no matter what they did. 

“Erza…” Ever so gently, Mirajane took her hand and shook her head. 

“But—” 

“If this is the end,” Mirajane said. “Let’s all meet it together.” She held her other hand out to Lisanna. “Let’s hold hands.” 

* * *

Mirajane gazed around the circle of her guildmates, stained with tears and blood. Erza held her hand so, so softly. 

She was only twenty-one. She’d not lived a long life at all, and most of these people standing around her were her age or younger. It wasn’t fair for them to be dying like this, so young, butchered by some heartless monster. 

But she couldn’t say that she regretted her life, regretted Fairy Tail. She wouldn’t change it, even if she were given the choice. 

Natsu and Gajeel protected Wendy between them, gripping her small hands, and assuring her that everything would be okay, though she could see in their eyes that they knew… they knew this was the end. Levy held Gajeel’s other hand, her eyes wide with tears. The Exceeds sat at their feet, wings limp. Loke, Cana, and Lucy held each other, whispering soft things to each other. Lisanna shivered in between Mirajane and Elfman, though she refused to cry. Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed traded insults for the last time, swearing to each other that this wasn’t going to be the last time they met. Gray took Juvia's hand, and gave Erza and Natsu a sad look. Though he hesitated, Laxus took the Master’s hand and joined the circle. Gildarts stared up at the dragon. “Guess you get to do me in, after all.” 

Mirajane took a shaky breath. She would miss them. All of them. 

Everyone gazed up at the dragon as it finally released its power, and destruction rained down upon them. 

* * *

A warm smile appeared on Mavis’s face as she watched her fairies join hands, watched them face Acnologia one last time, after even their all hadn’t been enough to vanquish the beast. “I think I’ve chosen well,” she said. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” 

She called on the power of Tenrou, on the sacred power granted to her and her guild by the ancient powers of the world. 

Just as Acnologia’s attack befell her guild, Fairy Sphere flickered to life around them, shielding them from any harm that could possibly come. 

“I can’t wait to see you all again,” she whispered. “And I _will_ see you again.” 

* * *

Zeref felt nothing as Tenrou crumbled beneath Acnologia’s might. 

Mavis’s homeland, the guild he had helped her create, his little brother, all of it destroyed, replaced by the swirling waters of the ocean as Acnologia disappeared into the clouds once again. 

“Farewell, Natsu.” 

“So, you have decided to give up, though you know what that means,” a voice said behind him. 

Zeref turned to see Mavis step over Hades’ lifeless body. 

She sighed. “I do wish you hadn’t killed him. He may have strayed from the correct path, but he was my friend.” 

Zeref shook his head. “Even when he is the one who caused this?” 

Mavis gave Zeref a sad look. “You know as well as I that choosing to abandon your care for life, for this world, was your own choice. And you know what will come of such a decision.” 

“You’re going to oppose me?” He nearly scoffed. Fairy Tail would become nothing without those wizards. 

“You always knew I would,” she said. “Wasn’t that the deal we made, all those years ago? That should one of us need to be stopped, we would do so. I haven’t forgotten.” 

Zeref turned to gaze out across the ocean. “You’ll break one day, too. Your heart has already darkened, Mavis, dear.” 

“Perhaps so,” she said. “But that may be what I need to fight you. A hundred years is a long time. And you know what I created Fairy Tail for. What  _ you _ created Fairy Tail for.” 

He sighed. “It doesn’t matter now. They’re gone.” 

“Are they?” she asked. 

He turned back around to demand what she meant, but she had vanished. 

He smirked. “If that’s how you want this to go, then so be it, Mavis. Show me what your fairies have become.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's read this entire fic! (Honestly, you might be just as crazy as me for sticking with it for so long). If you made it this far, I'm going to assume you enjoyed it, haha. 
> 
> As I've mentioned before, this is going to be a series! The first chapter of the second part will hopefully be posted in a day or two, so keep an eye out! I hope everyone enjoys the second part as much as the first

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream with me on Tumblr! 
> 
> @animateddragon: anime blog, and where I actually talk about my fics
> 
> @cats-crows-and-cryptids: shitposts, mental breakdowns, hyperfixation central
> 
> @cryptid-kaz: original writing blog


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